


Maybe I'm a Chat Person After All

by juggiejunkie



Series: MIACPAA verse [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Amazing, Chloe - Freeform, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, FUCK, Growing Up Together, Hawkmoth identity reveal, I love him, I'll wait until the next chapter to fully update tags, I'm Sorry, Identity Reveal, Let Them Sleep, Marichat, Minor Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Partial Identity Reveal, Probably ooc, Rating will change, Sad Chat is sad, Suggestive Themes, THE ANGST IS HERE, Tears, a d lil adrien doesn't know about his dad, and then the first akuma, bc gabriel be buggin, but he doesnt know about his son, but it's for the sadness, but its okay, but you know i had too, chats a lil shit, full identity reveal, gabe no, gabriel is hawkmoth, god i no longer wish Marinette was me, god i wish marinette were me, his mom is the peackock, i wanna hug the kitty, if that shows up in the tag searches im deleting it, im gonna cry, it kills me, lil kiddies, more characters added as they appear, more past, no, not really but, oh look the past, out of the ass, plagg yes, pls have better grieving habits, she lets adrien use chat as a way to have a childhood, shit Gabe, so close, soooooo, thats a lil obsessive, the class - Freeform, then ladybug, then love square, then she disappears when adrien starts collège, tikki no, with already existing marichat, with marichat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2018-09-27 19:52:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 32,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10043483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juggiejunkie/pseuds/juggiejunkie
Summary: Or the one where Chat Noir has had his miraculous since he was a little kid and he grew up as a constant thorn in Marinette’s side.(Lonely babies growing up together while helping each other get what they need)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo this is my first story on ao3 and I figured go big or go home tbh.... lemme know how I did!

She had to find the necklace before she went home. This is the reason six year old Marinette would give her parents if they caught her leaving the park without permission. Her mother had just given her a really important necklace only last week, and she had already lost it- kind of. “Technically” she didn't actually lose it... She just might have let some random boy at the park look at it and forgot all about it until he got up and left. In his defense, it's not like he stole it. Marinette thinks that maybe he forgot about it too, which is why she decided to go look for him instead of telling her mom. Too bad she didn't know his name, although it shouldn't be too hard to find a little boy in a cat costume.

After around 15 minutes of dedicated searching, Marinette slumped against a tree with a heavy sigh. The weird cat-boy had obviously left the park, and any hope she had of getting her necklace back had left with him. She angrily smacked the tree with her tiny hands as if the tree would drop her lost treasure. The tree reacted.

“Hey, can you stop hitting the tree?” The brunette looked up and almost screamed. She could have sworn she was the only kid near this tree. After her initial shock, she took note of the kid actually in the tree.

“Hey! Cat-boy! Give me back my necklace!!! I have to leave soon and I can't leave without it!” The boy gave her the most annoyed face he could make. “I would, but I can't get down, so guess we're both stuck.” He stuck out his tongue at her.

She felt bad for him for like 3 seconds before getting offended. “I’m not stuck in a tree because I know which ones to climb. So gimme my stuff so I can leave and you can be stuck here by yourself.”

“Stuck. In. A tree. You want me to drop it? It'll break but I guess I could” He pulled the necklace out of his pocket and held it out like he was about to drop it before Marinette held up her hands to stop him. “Nooooo! Don't drop it! My mom just gave it to me. She said it belonged to Chinese Royalty and it's been in our family forever. You can't just break it!”

He put it back in his pocket “Well what do you want me to do Princess?” He used the nickname with a condescending tone, mocking her.

She ignored the name, and thought of a way to get him down. “I could go get my parents... or yours! They're probably looking for you!”

She started to leave to go do as she suggested before he called after her. “Wait no! You can't leave me here, I'll get scared!” Marinette put her hands on her hips. “Well what are you gonna do, jump?! I need that necklace Cat-boy”

He paused as if considering her idea, which he could clearly tell she did not like. He tried to reason. “Okay listen... What if-”

“No! Don't jump out, you might break my necklace!” 

“But what if you caught me? Then I'm out of the tree.” Marinette looked at him like he was crazy. “What if my necklace breaks?!”

“Then it's your fault for not catching me good enough.” The blonde boy said simply.

Marinette thought about it. She knew it was stupid, but she really needed her stuff back, and getting hurt at the park was no match for her mother's wrath. It was a no brainer to the 6 year old. She held out her arms. “Okay fine, just be careful Cat-boy.”

“My name is A-” He coughed. “Chat Noir.” He jumped.

She screamed as he fell, catching him and then falling into the grass. After she was trapped under him for a few seconds, she calmed down a bit. She wiggled, uncomfortable. “Get offfffffffff!” She pushed at him.

He took forever to finally get off of her and sat up in the grass. “Thanks, Princess.” She huffed and sat up facing him, fixing her now grass filled pigtails.

“My name's Marinette.”

“I think I'll keep calling you Princess. I like it.”

She frowned. “Oh yeah? Well I think I'll call you Stray!” It was her turn to stick her tongue out at him. 

“And I bet you want your necklace back too, huh?” In a flash, he was up and running, laughing as she screamed at him before chasing him.

“GIVE IT BACK YOU STUPID CAT!” She shouted as she chased him all around the park. Soon, she caught up to Chat Noir, and tackled him in the grass. They struggled and tussled for a bit, each child muttering insults at the other until Marinette came up victorious. She proudly sat on top of him, digging through the boy's pockets before retrieving her necklace and putting it on. “Ha! I win!”

He flipped her off of him with ease before getting up and rubbing the grass off of him as she laid in the grass processing what just happened. After realizing her situation, she got up to tackle the boy again, but stopped when she saw him laughing. She knew it should have made her angrier, but there was something about the blonde boy’s laugh that made her stop. Maybe it was his impossibly white teeth, or the unique green of his eyes that actually resembled a cat, or maybe it was the way his ears and tail seemed to move and twitch, as if they were an actual part of him. Either way, she found herself laughing along with the boy, until they fell over in a heap of giggles in the grass.

It was then that Marinette’s mother came over to get her. “Mari, it's time to go, say goodbye to your new friend, Sweetie.” The little girl paused before remembering all that had just happened to her.

“He's not my friend.” She decided. “He stole my necklace and jumped out of a tree at me.” Chat stuck his tongue out at her. “I didn't mean to take it so forget it already.”

Sabine just laughed at the two while steering her child away from the boy while wondering who would let their six year old wear a full leather catsuit. “Sounds like you had fun, maybe you guys will see each other again soon.” She said as soon as they were out of Chat’s earshot. 

Marinette and her mother walked over to where her father waited for them and all three of them left the park.

“I sure hope not...” She said to herself as she caught one last glimpse of him climbing up another tree. “Stupid cat.” She thought that if she never saw him again it'd be too soon, and was glad that Paris was such a big city, so it's not likely that she'd ever actually run into him again.

 

Boy was she wrong...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a little bit of lil Adrien and then a time skip plus a lot of change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I'm gonna apologize in advance for this chapter. I want you guys to know that 1: I'm doing all of this from my phone and 2: I don't have a beta. like I literally just type it up and post it.... so yeah.

One week. That’s how long it took for Adrien to remember the little blue haired Chinese girl’s name. Marinette. Plagg had teased him relentlessly about her ever since they left the park. That is to say, he lightly scolded him for interacting too much with a civilian and then asked for a snack because he was “exhausted.” Adrien’s mom, however, seemed delighted about the whole thing. “Oh relax Plagg, my little kitten’s made his first friend, hasn’t he?” She walked into the room and was met by a big hug from the little model. “Did you have fun at the park today?”

Adrien nodded his head. “But she’s not my friend. She accused me of stealing her stupid necklace-”

“Which you kind of did, kid.” Plagg interrupted.

“Shhhh! No, it was an accident. If she cared that much about it, then she wouldn’t’ve let me see it so there.” The blonde turned back to his mom, ignoring Plagg. “So first she says I stole her dumb necklace, and then she almost left me in a tree to die!”

Plagg gave up reasoning with the boy and took his cheese elsewhere. He didn’t really care for dealing with children.

“Did you get stuck in another tree, Chatton?”

The boy hesitated. “...Yes.” She smiled. “And did she leave you to die?”

“Well, no... She almost did, but she helped me down.”

“And did you give her necklace back?”

“Not at first. She called me a stray so I didn’t, but she got it back before she left.”

Adrien looked up at his mother as she nodded, as if she found all of this adorable. “We had fun, but she’s not my friend and I hope I never see her again.”

“Well does Mlle. “I Hope I Never See Her Again” have a name.”

“Yes, it’s...” Adrien trailed off, his little eyes wide as he realized that he never bothered to remember her name. “It’s...” At this time, Plagg decided to rejoin the two, snickering as he neared.

“She told him, but he liked his nickname for her better.”

“Oh? And what’s that?”  
Adrien blushed and spoke in a quiet voice. “I uh... called her a Princess...” He quickly tried to defend himself as Plagg laughed. “It’s only because she said that her ugly necklace was from Chinese Royalty!”

His mother laughed. “Princess, huh? Seems fitting that my baby knight has his very own princess, i think.” She laughed as he buried his face into her side, blushing furiously. That’s how Gabriel found them a few moments later.

“Is everything okay?” Although his words seemed concerned, his tone sounded as if he was only asking because he felt that he had to. That seemed to be his issue, so much of what he did was done out of necessity, instead of because he actually wanted to do them. 

“Yes, Dear.” He walked over to them and allowed his wife to kiss him on the cheek. When she spoke, she sounded of far away dreams, just out of reach, that made him want to just take a break and indulge in this, in her, in them, in his family, for just a little while. “I was just teasing our son about a friend he met at the park today.”

Adrien spoke with his face still buried inside of his mother’s dress. “She’s not my friend, Mom.”

Gabriel smiled down at his son before frowning. “You know that he can’t go to the park, Love. What if someone notices him, takes pictures of him? The company doesn’t need any more unnecessary attention right now from the media.” She stilled, her face the epitome of calm before sending Adrien (And Plagg) out of the room. Once she was sure that her son could no longer here, she spoke to her husband in a quiet voice. “I’d sincerely hope that our son is more than just ‘Unnecessary attention,” as you said. He is a little boy that deserves to have some fun. He’s six Gabriel, let him have a childhood!”

“He has the best childhood money can buy! He doesn’t need to be going out to the park when he has all he could ask for right here. I don’t appreciate your tone. Besides, what if the press saw you?! That’d be even more attention that we don’t need!”

“Don’t appreciate my tone? Who do you think I am, one of your interns? I couldn’t care less about you appreciating my tone! My beautiful little boy is bored here. He hates being within these walls and he’s only six years old. What does that say about us? About You? He doesn’t care about all of this fancy stuff that you buy him because he is alone in this giant empty house! He’s not allowed to have anybody over, he’s not allowed to go outside, do you want him to go crazy? He’s our son first, company asset never. I’ll do whatever it takes to see him smile. And if that means not even being able to take him to the park and having the Gorilla do it just because my husband cares more about his business than his only child, then so be it.” She walked past him and out of the room. “By the way, he had a great day today, if you even care.” With that statement, she was gone, and Gabriel was left to think about what he just did. After a few moments of pulling himself together, he fixed his face and walked out of the room.

One week later, as little Adrien was eating his morning cereal, he suddenly dropped his spoon, much to his mother's surprise.

“What's wrong kid?” Plagg asked, more out of curiosity than concern.

“Her name's Marinette.” was all the boy said.

After a few moments, all three of them were laughing, having remembered their past conversation.

In one of the many hallways outside of the dining area, Gabriel listened to his wife and child laugh, wondering how he managed to separate himself from them.

\----------

Over the next few years, Marinette and Adrien, or Chat Noir rather, saw each other a lot more, as Marinette’s family bakery was near the park, and Adrien was only allowed outside once a week. It became normal for them to play and bicker with each other all day for one day a week. Marinette and Chat grew closer over the years, very much so once they turned 10. It got to the point where he convinced her to leave her balcony unlocked for him late at night. She never asked how he managed to get up there, and he never asked why she never told her parents. Now he could come over whenever he needed to sneak away from his citizen life and just relax. He was her best friend and She was his only friend. It was nothing for an 11 year old Chat to come to her late at night crying because of a fight he overheard between his parents. She didn't know too much, but she did know that his home life wasn't fun, so she was always there for him, sneaking him snacks, listening to him vent. Once, when they were 13, her parents found them both napping in Marinette’s bed. They weren't very happy, but after some explaining, they understood what their daughter was doing for Chat. They said he could no longer be over without telling them, but any night he wanted to come over, he was welcome for dinner. Needless to say, this new rule didn't stop her from leaving the balcony open, and it didn't stop him from sneaking in, but he was grateful nonetheless. 

Throughout these same years, the two children heard about a hero, named Hawkmoth. He had the power to turn other people into what he called “Champions,” which gave them unbelievable abilities. He was never seen, nor did he want any recognition for his deeds, but if someone was in trouble and saw the butterflies, everybody already knew who to thank. Paris’s own superhero. Marinette loved him, but Chat got an overall bad vibe from the guy that he could never place. Chat much more adored The Peacock. She used to be Hawkmoth’s partner, but had to step down away from the life of crime fighting because of other obligations. Chat never actually saw her in action, but she's still his favorite all the same. Sometimes he thinks he can see glimpses of her on a rooftop, but he thinks he's making it up.

\----------

As the seasons change, so did Marinette and Adrien. They each changed as the grew. She developed a taste for fashion, much to his dismay, and he grew to love science, mostly physics, but he just seemed to be interested in how things worked. Marinette hated science just as much as Chat hated fashion, but that didn't stop them from supporting each other. She'd save her allowance to buy him all of the cool little gadgets he said his parents would never buy him, and he “bought” her all kinds of fabrics and old sewing machines. (There had been rumors about a thief in Agreste Fashions, but nobody could ever get proof.) He'd bring her the latest magazines and listen to her gush about her love for his father's designs, and she'd listen to him go on and on about theories about time travel.

Life wasn't perfect for them, but they did the best with what they had and they were kind of happy. Marinette was returning to collège in the upcoming year, and even though Chat was homeschooled, his parents had enrolled him in public school and the two teens imagined what it would be like to be together outside of her 4 walls. Both of them know that the chance of them being friends was slim because he would be out of the suit, but that didn't stop them from dreaming.

In fact, Adrien seemed to dream the most out of the two. He dreamed of growing up and freeing himself from his father's business. He dreamed of telling Marinette his secret identity. He dreamed of his parents no longer arguing. He dreamed of one day being happy. 

But one fatal day before the start of summer, Marinette turned on the news and saw tragedy. Mme. Agreste had died the night before in a terrible accident. Marinette had only just made it back upstairs to her room when she saw him sitting on her bed, destroyed. She immediately ran to comfort him as he told her that someone close to him had died. Marinette asked if it was Mme. Agreste and he simply nodded before breaking down into her shoulder. Muffled explanations of how she was like a mother to him, and all he really had, caused her to stay home on the last day of school to be with Chat as he could do nothing except watch his entire life burn.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That dreadful summer and the effect it had on the Agreste boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I might write drabbles about all of this time I'm skipping but idk if I'll have the time... I feel like now I should mention that I'll be diverging from the canon a lot even though I never started in canon. Also, I suck at writing fighting scenes so I'm probably never going to write one seeing as though you all know all of the akumas anyways.  
> Enjoy!!!

It was the hottest summer of the decade, yet the suffocating temperatures weren’t due to the sun. The city of Paris was burning. For Adrien, at least. Everywhere he looked, all he could see was red. Everywhere he went, he could feel the smoke in his lungs. It was hell. The only solace he had was the Chinese girl with the magic hugs. Chat Noir could often be found, if he was found at all, in the arms of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. For those three months, she was the only thing keeping him anchored to this world, the only warmth that didn’t scorch.

A car crash. His mother had been the victim of a car crash. Her limo was headed back to the mansion, back to HIM, when another car came out of nowhere and ran the limo off of the road and into a tree. The worst part about all of this, is that she survived the crash. She was injured, sure, but she was alive. Then the fire came. The P.I.s don’t know where the fire came from, but the Autopsy report stated that Mme. Agreste was alive for those 20 minutes in between the initial crash and the fire. They also had reason to believe that the accident had not been so “accidental” after all because of the fact that there was no other car on the scene. When the police had arrived, there was only the limo, the only piece of metal burning. So this along with the fact that no fire should have occurred warranted them to open up an investigation, much to the Agreste’s horror. Gabriel, having thrown himself into his work instead of grieving, found all of the interviews annoying and refused to entertain them, which left poor Adrien, lost and distraught, to answer all of the questions about his mother. No, she doesn’t have any enemies, no, she wasn’t involved in any illegal business. The reason the media began to see less of her was because she was raising a child. He got angry. He knew it was a common procedure, but who could honestly think his mother was a bad person? She gave everyone her everything to the point where she barely had anything left. She had helped everyone in the city of Paris, but they needed to know if she was involved in any illegal activity?

That summer was the summer where Adrien began to disappear. His father let up on his schedule, so whenever his schedule was clear, Adrien was nowhere to be found. Gabriel didn't really care about where his son was, as long as he stayed out of trouble, Adrien was out of his hair, as far as he was concerned. Although both he and Nathalie wondered how he managed to get past the cameras, neither of them had the time to worry, since it would ultimately fall on The Gorilla’s head if something were to happen. The Gorilla wasn't really worried either because when he saw a flash of black dash past his window, he knew that wherever Adrien was going was a lot better than where he was at.

At it was. His destination was of course the room above the Dupain-Cheng bakery. In the arms of the girl who was officially his true home. She always seemed to know when he was coming, she sat on her balcony with a box of pastries whenever he approached. He liked to think that she was waiting for him, but he knew better. She had to have perfect intuition because there's no way she'd care about him that much. 

They didn't really talk much during those three months, letting the air around them converse instead. He'd try to sneak up on her, and she'd already be out there, looking in his direction. He'd sit in one of her chairs and began eating very slowly, and she'd make her way over to his lap, playing with his hair quietly and seemingly being the one to hold him even though it was him who held her. It was then that Chat felt himself able to breathe again. When he felt all of his tension seep out through her, felt another physical person. This is when he began to remember that he was real, that he existed, that he mattered. She'd look at him with the softest smile he's ever known, her eyes conveying all of the things he knew she wouldn't allow herself to say. These were the times that he felt that maybe one day it would get better. And even though he knew the moment he left her embrace that the fire would once again consume him, he let himself indulge in his ray of moonlight, letting him be pulled closer and closer to his moon as if he himself was the tide.

All the way across the city, Marinette could unfortunately do nothing to put out the fire that had been ignited inside of Gabriel. He, having thrown himself into his work, had chosen to isolate himself from anyone and everyone who wanted to help. Hawkmoth had even stopped helping out the civilians of Paris.

After removing any trace of his wife from the house, besides a few pictures maybe, he went through the last of her things. He of course expected to find her miraculous, the blue Peacock seemed lackluster without its owner. What he didn't expect to find was a book. Upon first glance, it seemed to be a normal history book, but he knew his wife better. He opened the book and was awed by what he read. He didn't know whether to be angry or lucky that his wife had hidden all of this information from him. Inside of the book he found information about not only the butterfly and peacock miraculous, but about all of the miraculous 7. After a few minutes of skimming through the pages, Gabriel froze. The words “Creation,” “Destruction,” and “Omnipotent” stuck out. He'd apparently been dealt the wrong hand, it would seem. The Black Cat miraculous and the Ladybug miraculous held the keys to power. A power so strong that nothing could stop it. If he wielded both of them, he could do anything he wanted, without the restraints and limitations of the human body. He could re-write the entire flow of history and shape the future. Gabriel reasons that he could even raise the dead. With one glance at a portrait of his wife, his decision was made. He would have the miraculous. He would become higher than God himself and right the wrong that such a God would allow to happen.

Over the course of the summer, finding said miraculous proved harder than he initially assumed. The end of the summer had come quicker than he saw and yet he was no closer to his goal. He tried to locate Master Fu, but the location of the old man was even more of a mystery to him. So as a last resort, he felt the string pull of a familiar sensation.

Upon receiving Noroo, Fu had warned him of the negative sides to his powers. While he could feel when someone was in danger, he could also feel the anger of the one endangering them. Fu said that under no circumstances was he allowed to feed into that anger, but seeing as the old man was nowhere to be found when necessary, Gabriel decided to take matters into his own hands by sending out one of his beloved butterflies.

“Stoneheart, I am Hawk Moth. I give you the power to seek revenge on those who have wronged you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah yes the first akuma. I'm probably going to start the next chapter either directly after the fight, or later that night, idk yet


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bug is sad. hug her. pls.

A superhero. Marinette could hardly believe it. Her? The girl who physically tripped over her words? THE Miraculous Ladybug? Admittedly, she would rather give the earrings back and continue on with her life, but she was honored all the same. 

There weren’t too many disadvantages to being a heroine. Besides the obvious, that she couldn't share her secret with the ones she loved in order to make sure they were protected, there was one thing that really made her upset. 

She has the blessing of having her best friend as her partner, but she can never tell him. Every time they go on patrol, she has to look at him and pretend that she just met him, that his jokes are new, that he's new, and she's not sure how long she can keep lying to him without messing up their entire relationship. Would Chat be mad at her for not telling him immediately? Of course he would. But he couldn't really be mad at her because he never told her who he was, to be quite honest.

Not that she was pressed to know. She was always curious, as she should've been, but she understood that there are things that she just wasn't supposed to know. Just like there are things that Chat couldn't ever find out. Just because she's never withheld anything from him doesn't mean that she never would. For instance, he could never know that she’s Ladybug. Tikki had made this crystal clear. No one must know. Not her parents. Not her new friends at school. Not even her lifelong best friend who also shared this burden. 

Marinette sat on her bed and sighed, ignoring Tikki’s worried glances. It would take her a minute to get used to the new kwami, so unlike Plagg yet so similar at the same time, but she didn't have time for that right now. She had to prepare herself mentally and physically for tonight, when a certain black cat would show up. Because of course he would. He just got a new partner after a lifetime of being alone, why wouldn't he rush to tell his best friend? She laughed bitterly at the thought. Alone. If only he knew just how “alone” he actually was. She knew that he understood that he'd always have her, it just sucked for both of them that he had this whole life that she could never know, and on top of that anything to do with his other life as a superhero was also off limits. Having 1/3 of a best friend was awful, but it was no one's fault. What made it worse was that now that she could finally get to know another side of him, she had to lie about it and create another side of herself. Their friendship was splintering and she could do nothing except watch, all alone, as it fell apart around her.

She glance at the clock on her phone and decided it was time to actually get ready. She went downstairs and returned with a plate of cheese and set it on her work space, next to a worn and torn blindfold. Even though she's done this every night for a long time now, today feels like the first time all over again. Maybe it was because of her new “roommate.”

“I didn't know you liked cheese Marinette!” Tikki flew over to her because she had also brought up some cookies for the bug kwami.

She laughed nervously. “Uhm... I actually don't like cheese that much...” She trailed off, trying to remain ambiguous even though she would have to explain in the next few minutes. She shook her head, tired of lying and omitting parts of her life. “Actually Tikki, there's something I need to tell you.”

Tikki paused mid bite and looked at her wielder. She sensed that what Marinette said next was extremely important. “Of course! Go ahead.”

“The reason I was so scared when you first showed up wasn't because I was unfamiliar with kwamis. I've actually met one before, and we're in close contact... All the time... Every night.”

Tikki frowned, confused. There's no way she'd be in contact with another kwami unless, “Do you already have a miraculous? I didn't sense any on you...”

Marinette snorted. “I'd hardly call Plagg mine, even though he does seem to like me more than he likes Chat.”

“You know who Chat Noir is?”

She sensed the alarm in Tikki’s voice. “Nooooo, not like his civilian form anyways. But I do know him personally. I have since we were children. I met Plagg years ago as well. They come over literally every night, so I figure I should warn you before they got here.”

“Aren't you worried that they'll figure out your new secret?” She gestured to herself.

Mari’s face steeled. She spoke in light and cheery, yet extremely serious tones. “Chat Noir is my very best friend and I refuse to sever that relationship because of a secret that I shouldn't be keeping from him anyways.” She took a breath, planing to further explain to Tikki her position on the issue, when she heard light footsteps on the roof. “Honestly, I want you to stay out so that I don't have to lie to him, but if you feel that you just have to be hidden then I understand completely and will not be upset at all, Tikki.” 

Tikki hesitated. She knew where her wielder was coming from, but she had rules to follow, so with a quick, albeit sad, nod, she hid.

“Princeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssss!” Came from above her room as Chat dropped onto her balcony. “The best thing happened to me-” He paused, taking in her appearance. He frowned and quickly moved to her side. “You okay Mari? What's wrong?”

She shook her head again, fearing that it might fall off from all this shaking. She smiled up at him. “I'm good, Stray. Tell me about your day. You seem really excited.”

He made a mental note to come back to this because she most certainly was not “good,” but he understood when someone didn't want to talk.

“So apart from today being the first day of school, the school was attacked! I guess you know that of course, but the exciting part was that when I went to go fight this... akuma? I think that's what it's called? THERE WAS ANOTHER MIRACULOUS WIELDER!!! Her name's Ladybug, and I'm in love with her. She's brave and heroic and even though it was her first day, I think she's the most amazing person out there. I'm gonna make her My Lady, and we're going to get married one day, watch.”

The brunette laughed. “Wow, that is exciting. Loving someone after only one day? I'd say that's unrealistic, but I actually might have an idea of what you mean.” She looked away, thinking of her new classmate Adrien Agreste.

His eyebrows rose. “Oh? And how was your first day back? I know that there was an... altercation... but I hope it turned out well! And I heard that you made new friends as well.”

She wondered if his class was close to hers. “Yeah actually. I made a few new friends today. There's Alya and Nino, although I've always known Nino, we've just never talked until now. and Then there's Adrien.” She smiled as she said his name.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, well, when I met him I thought he was just as mean as Chloé,” she made a face at the name. “But he went out of his way to make sure I knew that he's not like her at all.”

She continued to talk about him until Chat cut her off. “So what about this Alya?” Her face lit up again, and he was glad for the subject change and tired of hearing about himself.

“She's super cool, oh my God, Chat I wish I could introduce you. She's this extremely dedicated reporter who just amazing! And guess what her favorite thing to report on is!”  
She paused for like a second, not really giving him time to respond. “Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

He laughed. “Nice to know that we already have such dedicated fans. I'll be sure to let My Lady know.”

They both sat in silence for a bit, just enjoying each other's presence. Even though he was there just last night, the day's events made it feel like years had passed for the both of them.

“Hey, can I detransfom to give Plagg a break? After the attack on the school was taken care of I didn't really give him that much of a break before coming here...” He looked at her sheepishly.

“Of course, Stray. You know you never have to ask.” She slowly got up and walked over to where her blindfold was. She knew that kwamis could sense each other and that as soon as he detransfomed Plagg would know. But she hoped that he wouldn't tell Chat. “Okay go ahead.” She said after the blindfold was secure.

“Plagg, claws in!” 

The kwami sighed heavily, having smelled the cheese before they even got to her house and went to go eat. Then, he paused. 

“You okay? You've never restrained yourself this long before.” Chat joked and Mari cringed. she knew what was coming.

“The room just...” Plagg was careful with his words, Seeing the brunette so fearful, understanding instantly. He had to be sure. “seems different. Did you get something new today, Marinette?”

She kept her back to Chat. “Uhm, yeah, I got some new fabrics, some new earnings,” she emphasised the word, knowing that he'd understand. Then a thought occurred to her. “Hey you like boxes right? Like a cat thing? The box my earnings came in should be on the dresser behind my books if you wanna check it out...” She prayed that Tikki wouldn't be mad at her for outing her location.

“Next to the cookies?”

“Yeah go for it.”

He quickly flew over there and after some unexplainable noises, he was quiet.

“That's new, he never shuts up.” Chat hissed when he was hit in the head with a piece of cookie. “Stupid alley cat.” He lied back on the bed.

Marinette giggled, slowly making her way back to the bed again. She was used to his cat like tendencies outside of the suit. “I just rubbed some... catnip on the box. he should be quiet for a minute.” She stretched on top of him, facing her ceiling. She knew she shouldn't ask, but the curiosity was eating at her. “So, Ladybug huh?”

She smiled softly as he jumped back into his tale of the miraculous heroine, pushing away the guilt that formed because her best friend was in love with the one person he could never truly have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaha so it's 4/13 u guys and instead of studying for my final tonight and instead of being complete homestuck trash, I decided to write almost 2k words of Marinette anguishhhhhh. hahaha. I'm crying. it's kind of ooc tbh tho...


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone let the cat take a nap

Adrien was warm. Extremely warm. Not to the point where he needed air, but to the point where it surrounded him completely, and he loved it. His blankets had never felt like this, and he wondered if they had just came out of the dryer. He tried to sit up and stretch, and was confused when he found that he couldn't. He opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, instantly cursing. Said ceiling was way to low and close to be his own, and he was scared to look down because he feared that he would not see his own blankets. He slowly lowered his head. Adrien’s view of the blankets were blocked by a very familiar head. He cursed again low in his throat before whisper shouting to his kwami.

“Plagg! PLAAAAAGG!” The blonde called into the darkness. He kept calling all while fidgeting underneath Marinette, knowing that she sleeps like the dead and wouldn't wake up.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Plagg slowly drifted over to the panicked boy. “Calm down, Kid, I'm right here.”

“So am I, which is the problem. How did we over sleep? We have to go before the sun rises and the Gorilla realized we never came home last night.”

“It's not that big of a deal. Kids stay out late all of the time. Go back to sleep.” Plagg yawned, eager to return to the box where his partner slept.

“Right, and wait for Marinette to wake up and see my civilian form?”

The kwami paused, having momentarily forgotten the fact that Adrien and Marinette had no idea about the other, and sighed. “Fine, you know the words, Kid.”

“Plagg, claws out!”

There was a flash of green underneath the brunette, and Chat was the one trapped. It was easier for him to slip out from underneath her with his heightened abilities without waking her up. Next thing he knew, he was standing beside her bed looking down at her. With a soft smile he removed the blindfold that had slipped off in their sleep and tucked the covers around her. Placing the blindfold on her table, he looked at his sleeping Princess one last time before leaving through the balcony doors.

While racing across the Parisian rooftops in illuminated darkness, he lectured himself.

“I can't believed I stayed that long. What was I thinking? The sun is going to be coming up in less than an hour, and I'm just sleeping the night away. In my civilian form, no less! With Mari! What if she had woken up to use the restroom?” He gasped. “What if her parents had checked on her?! Then what would I have done? What would she have done? I don't even want to think about what they would've done. I like eating dinner with them on the weekends. I don't want to ruin that!” 

When he reached his room, he fell out on his bed, and released his transformation. He was instantly met with familiar cold blankets. Adrien made no move to get underneath them, longing for the loving embrace of the bed he just left. With that on his mind, he let himself fall back asleep, not caring if he was late to school the next day.

\----------

These next few weeks were not kind to Adrien. His schedule seemed to be more full than it normally was, and the more his free time decreased, the more the akuma attacks seemed to increase.

All of Paris knew that Hawkmoth had snapped. Everyone knew why he went off the deep end, rumors spread about the death of his Peacock, but no one understood why he decided to take it out on them. They all turned to Ladybug and Chat Noir to save them. Paris’s own Miraculous savior and her knight in leather padded spandex.

Chat didn't mind not being on the same level as his Lady, quite frankly he too believed her to be too good for their city. He too had put her on a pedestal and was perfectly okay with not being in the spotlight.

He grew tired of the light being on him anyways. It was like as soon as he was no longer in uniform, his entire life was under a magnifying glass. He had no time to relax and be himself. 

Walk like this. Talk in this way. Don't make friends with those kind of people. Always be around these kind of people. Don't embarrass the company. This was his life. No one asked him how he was doing, if he needed help. It was demand after command after forceful request, and he was sick of it.

This led to later nights at Marinette’s. He would arrive later and leave at sunrise. This was the only time he had to catch his breath and remember that he was a living person, not a machine. 

And Marinette, his wonderful Princess, while she didn't understand exactly what he was going through, she could see what it was doing to him. She took to sleeping as soon as she got home so that she could stay up all night with her Chat. She moved doing her homework and working on her various projects to that time so that she wouldn't fall asleep on him, and he was so grateful. She seemed to be the only person who wanted to be around him without any ulterior motive.

Well, her and his Lady. While Marinette was his shooting star that fell to Earth just for him calming, celestial, and serene, Ladybug was his sun, bright, warm, and all encompassing. She had this way of demanding his attention and dedication without even trying. When he was with her, Chat felt like he had all of the energy in the world. The akuma increase sucked for everyone, but the one good thing he got for it was his Lady. Since Hawkmoth seemed to target their school frequently, they took to patrolling right after school. While their main focus was to make sure nothing was wrong in the city, they often had time for small talk as well while they were jumping from building to building, and even though Chat never went into much detail, Ladybug seemed to know what he was going through. That's one of the reasons he was in love with her, his Lady just knew him so well. She was the highlight of his day, everyday, and he wished he could spend all day with her.

But eventually, reality would find them. He always had something to do- whether it be fencing, piano, or Chinese lessons- and immediately after he had a photo shoot of some sort, which meant he had to drag himself from his Lady. It was as if his father wanted him to be too busy to think. 

His father. The one person who was broken more than anyone over Mme. Agreste’s death. He threw himself into the company, taking his son with him. Neither of them had any time to think, or properly grieve, and that seemed to be what Gabriel wanted. He often asked Adrien why he felt the need to slow down and think when all of the thinking was already done for him. All he had to do was show up, do as he was told, and leave, all while not embarrassing the company. How hard was that? What thinking was required?

It was to the point where Adrien stopped asking questions. He just did what was expected of him until he was dismissed. All of his free time was spent with his two girls. His Lady by day, and his Princess at night. The later of the two, seemed to also be affected by his late night visits. He knew she was sleeping earlier, but he wondered if it was enough.

It wasn't, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow 2 chapters in 2 days, it's almost as if I haven't left the bed due to some illness. amaze.
> 
> But yeah, Chat loves his girls more than he loves himself but what else is new? I kinda always thought that the reason he put Ladybug above him was because he was glad to finally not be the one everyone was looking at. hmmm.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The Duality of Man" or the one in which no one ever sleeps, Adrien doesn't know who he is, and Nino can catch Memes from 1000 km away.

Late. Late. Late. Late. Late. 

Marinette was always late for school. Nobody understood how she wasn't the first one there because of how close she lived. She was literally across the street, yet she was always late to class. Some people speculated that she was late because of how close she lived. That she assumed she had more time than she really did. Those people were wrong though. She was just tired. All the time.

Chat came over late at night and didn't leave until sunrise every single night. He was okay with leaving earlier to give her time to sleep, but Marinette would rather never sleep again then see him go to a house where he was treated like he wasn't wanted, so she insisted that he stay as long as he could, agreeing that he still needed to be gone before all of Paris saw him leaving her room. She was glad to give away her sleep to make sure he knew he was loved. School was important, but not more important than Chat. Nothing was more important than Chat knowing that there was someone who actually cared about him.

So, she was late everyday. Not only was she late, but she frequently slept in class as well. She started drinking more tea- she hated the taste of coffee. It was bitter and no matter how much cream and sugar she used it was just horrible- but no amount seemed to keep her awake in her classes. She just couldn't stay awake.

Adrien was also always tired, but his schedule couldn't afford for him to be sleeping, so he took to coffee. He always had a thermos full of it on his desk, and used his fame to let the teachers allow him access to their coffee machines. He always restocked their supply, but it was honestly more for him than them. Adrien became the guy who drank about 16 cups a day and can't feel his legs. His black thermos with green paw prints all over it sat proud in front of him at all times, keeping him barely alive yet extremely alert throughout his day.

The class always joked amongst themselves about the two, Alya dubbing them “The Duality of Man” quite often. It was normal to walk in and see Adrien vibrating in his chair and to look behind him and wonder if Marinette was even alive.

Then “The Accident” happened.

It was a normal day in class, no akuma attacks so class was running smoothly. It was the last class of the day, so Adrien was finishing his 15th cup, and Marinette, who had slept through lunch, was sleeping peacefully. Even Mme. Bustier let her sleep as long as she didn't snore, which she never did.

There were certain people who felt as if it wasn't fair that Marinette got to sleep the entire class period away. Even though she had the highest grades in the class, some people, Chloé and Sabrina, thought that she needed to pay attention. The issue was, no one could ever get close enough to wake her up. If anyone besides Nino or Alya reached for her, Adrien was out of his seat in a flash. No one knew how he moved that fast, some assumed it was the coffee, but he was always ready. People used to try to see how quick he could respond, Kim and Alix even going as far as to toss pencil cap erasers in their general direction, but Adrien always caught them and threw them back before anyone had the time to blink. Marinette’s sleep was not to be disrupted. Chloé was sure that he couldn't protect her at all times, so after everyone else gave up, she continued to try. One day she got really close.

Mme. Bustier had let them work among themselves, and Chloé pretended to need to ask Adrien a question. While he was helping her, Sabrina snuck around the class and came behind Marinette and tried to wake her that way. Nino and Alya didn't notice, but the rest of the class did and said nothing. They knew it was wrong, but they too wanted to see if Sabrina could get past Adrien. Sabrina reached her hand into the danger zone.

She was almost there, when a hand snapped out and grabbed hers. The whole class jumped as Adrien grabbed Sabrina's hand without looking away from Chloé. She squealed and quickly pulled back her hand and rushed to her seat. No one else moved, except Marinette. 

Having sensed the whole class shift, she came to. Not enough to remember what she was doing, but only enough to change her position. She laid her head on her bag as she stretched both of her hands forward, said hands landing in Adrien’s hair.

Without realizing what she was doing, her hands began to slowly run through his hair, as if her hands recognized what her eyes could not. She exhaled happily and went back to sleep, hands never ceasing their movement, acting with a mind of their own as Marinette was once again knocked out cold.

Adrien, who temporarily forgot where he was at, relaxed and leaned back into the soothing hands. The entire class watched with confused looks as this occurred. 

Alya leaned forward towards Nino. “What is going on here?”

Neither of them took their eyes off of their friends as Nino shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine right now...”

Chloé, who had yet to go back to her seat seemed to be the only one who dared speak up at this atrocity. She looked down at Adrien. “What exactly does she think she is doing? Make her remove her filthy hands at once!”

Adrien frowned at her volume, but no could no longer focus on her. His tired state, plus Marinette’s hands, and the fact that he was out of coffee, caused him to not be able to focus on anything with his eyes. “She's fine, Chloé. Go sit down and let her sleep. You're loud.”

She huffed. “What do you care if I'm loud? You're awake! And she is not fine. She has her hands all in your hair and I won't stand for it!”

“Then go sit down!” Alix shouted from the back of the class. The rest of the class murmured their agreement. 

Alya looked at Chloé. “Honestly, you need to. I'm wide awake and you're hurting my ears too with your shrill voice.” Another agreement came from the class.

“Go cry about it from your seat.” Kim said.

The whole class seemed okay with what was happening except for Chloé. And maybe Nathanaël, but he spoke in low tones. “Chloé is really loud, but is it really okay for Mari’s hands to be in his hair like that?” Rose and Juleka gave him knowing looks. Ever since Evillustrator, he's kept his distance from Marinette. Everyone felt for him, but they all knew she didn't feel the same way about him so they all kind of overlooked it.

With the rest of the class against her, Chloé huffed and returned to her seat for the rest of class, at the request of Mme. Bustier. 

After class had been dismissed a few minutes later, Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Adrien were the last four in the class. Marinette still had her hands in Adrien’s hair and he was about to follow her into dreamland. 

“Alright Mari, time to go.” Alya reached over and shook the sleeping teen, hard. Marinette groaned but opened her eyes.

“She lives!” Nino shouted.

“Come on, girl, class is over and I think Adrien needs his hair back.”

Another groan came from Marinette. Adrien spoke. “She's good for a minute. Gorilla will call when he needs me. Besides, I have a few minutes to spare before my lessons.”

Marinette, who still knew Adrien’s schedule like the back of her hand hummed her agreement. “Correct pretty boy is correct.”

The three friends paused. “Did she just meme?” Came from Nino as “Pretty boy?” Came from both Alya and Adrien all at the same time. 

She just nodded, her hands moving to rub the space behind where his cat ears would have been if Adrien was in costume. This caused him to forget where he was and who he was, so he began purring slightly. Marinette smiled. “Good Kitty,” she murmured.

 

Her hands instantly froze in his hair. If Adrien could see what Alya and Nino saw, he would have seen Marinette’s eyes wide open and bloodshot as she realized what she just said. Instantly she bolted from the desk, grabbed her things and ran out of the room, tripping slightly on her way out. She decided in that moment that maybe coffee wasn't such a bad idea after all. “I have to go right now, immediately.”

“Dude! That's another meme Mari! We don't even have breadsticks to shove in your nonexistent purse. Come on!” Nino shouted after her. 

Alya was too busy watching Adrien to pay them any mind. Adrien, who still was unsure that he was currently Adrien, was patting his head where hands once were. He frowned and made a noise not unlike an actual cat “Mrow?” This caused Nino to also look at him.

“You good bro?”

Adrien nodded as he got up and gathered his things, saying something about how he was going to be late.

“You just said you had time.” He waived Alya away and tried to leave the room, half asleep.

On his way out he ran into the door frame and stood there staring at it for a minute. With a noise that sounded too much like a hiss, he left the room to go to whatever appointment he was suddenly late for.

Nino turned back to Alya. “What is wrong with them?”

She shook her head as she picked up her bag. “No clue...” She looked at him. “Want to talk about it? Say, after school tomorrow?”

“Like a date?”

She nodded. “Yeah, there's this new cafe that opened up around the corner and I figured we could check it out.”

He paused. “The one with the live music? Like with a DJ?”

“Mhmm. Tomorrow is open booth night and I knew you'd want to give the turntables a spin.”

“I'm game. So like right after school?”

She laughed. “Yeah.”

“It's a date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 in a day. I'm surprised with myself
> 
> also I'm probably not going to put Alya and Nino in the relationship tag because even though I ship them more than the love square, I hate when I'm looking for ship fics and can only find said ship as background or secondary ships.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nights Like These  
> (Takes place after the last chapter, but you can decide if it's that same night or any night of your choosing)

It's nights like these Marinette isn't sure actually exist.

The nights where she gets home from patrol, goes downstairs to show her face to her parents, comes back upstairs and finds Chat pacing on her open balcony.

She no longer joins him, knowing that he won't stop or acknowledge her until he's sure that he's calm enough to come in. Instead she sits on the bed and waits for him, staring at her walls. The pictures of her and all her friends making her smile as they decorate her walls. She frowns, searching for her favorite one. It's the only one of her and Chat that she hangs up. She has thousands of pictures of just them, but because he's Chat Noir, she only hung up the one where anyone looking would just assume she saw him on the street and got a picture, as he loves taking selfies with fans. For some reason he loves taking selfies, but he hates any other kind of picture. Something about them being more personal to him. The picture she hung up is of them at the park about a year ago. Both of them have their arms around the other's shoulder as they both make silly faces. Every night, he moves the location of the picture so she has to search for it.

So wrapped up in looking, she doesn't hear him come in behind her, but this too is normal. Not making any noise, he makes his way over to the bed and lays his head in her lap, nudging her stomach until she smiles and runs her hands through his hair. He hums and nuzzles her.

It's nights like these that no one ever says a word.

The nights where they both know the other is hurting, but can't bring themselves to give platitudes, both fearful of being one of the many reasons why the other is upset. Where that doesn't matter anyways because the only things that are real on these nights are each other and the pain. 

The tangible pain that comes from a life of being neglected and unloved by the only family you have left. From the empty hole in your heart where dead loved ones used to reside. From hating who the world made you become, the facade of perfection, when inside you know you are anything but. From restraining from breaking the mirror every time you walk past it. From trying to find a reason to keep on trying, but always coming up empty. That pain.

The abysmal pain that comes from never feeling good enough. From lying to the only person that knows the real you, and that you know is also hiding something from you for the same reason you're lying, but not finding fault in them because they are only hiding something whereas you're lying about hiding it. From looking at your parents everyday and knowing that if they knew what you were doing they'd fear for you, maybe even fear you. From having to hide yourself from every new person you meet to keep them safe. From your entire life being a sea of lies that don't see a safe way out of without hurting everyone. That pain.

There are good things that they could talk about, but the only topics that won't reveal their truths are subjects they don't want to talk about. Marinette loves letting him gush about Ladybug, but the guilt that comes with it is unbearable. Chat would love to let her talk about her friends, but he refuses to let her talk about Adrien, knowing how wrong it is.

So they sit in silence. Her actually sitting, and him with his head in her lap. They sit and they just breathe in the comforting silence that the other lets out. They don't move until long after the sun has set, and the moon rules the sky.

Once they can no longer see for hours, then, and only then, do they move. She gets up to go into the bathroom to change into her pajamas, and he stretches out on her bed, facing upwards, waiting. She comes back, clothes in hand, hair free from its pigtails, and smiles. After dealing with her clothes, she too gets into the bed. No blindfolds on nights like these.

It's nights like these that Marinette lays with Chat.

The nights where she has her head on his chest, hands in his hair, their legs twined, his hands tracing patterns lightly on her back.

No heat, no passion, just each other. That's all they need these nights. To be held by someone who actually cares for them. Someone who actually knows them, and expects nothing from them except this.

Though their hearts lie in the hands of other people, and their minds remain on said other people, this has nothing to do with romance or romantic love. That's not what this is about at all.

It's platonic at its core, this is true, but it is also something more. 

It's nights like these that Marinette and Chat Noir are touch starved. 

The nights where they are no longer hormone crazed teenagers, but have evolved into another species altogether. They are supernatural beings whose only purpose is to hold the other until the harsh light of day forces them apart.

It's nights like these that Plagg understands.

The nights where he holds his transformation throughout the entire night because both Marinette and Adrien need him to. Where he knows how it feels to need to be held. Where he concludes that since he gets to be with Tikki every night, he can spare a night here or there when the kids are at their worst. Where he looks out for both of them instead of just Adrien because Tikki deserves to rest sometimes too. Where in the morning, he remembers to wake Adrien so they can leave before Marinette wakes up.

It's nights like these Marinette isn't sure actually exist.

the nights where she isn't sure that Chat comes at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm done for the day. I promise.
> 
> I think that since she grew up with Chat, her obsession with Adrien is a little more tamed than in canon. While she still stalks his schedule, she doesn't have all of those pictures, instead covering the walls with pictures of all of the important people in her life, including him. Literally everyone in the show had taken a picture with her, except for Ladybug. 
> 
> Marinette dislikes Ladybug just as Chat hates Adrien, but she'd never use that word. They both feel as if the other half of them is their true mask and that other people love that side of them more than who they really are. That other people put Ladybug and Adrien on this pedestal of perfection and they hate it.
> 
> Also Marinette isn't as flustered around Adrien. She's always a little more red than normal when he's around, but she only stammers and stutters when they are having a one on one conversation. He still thinks she harbors negative emotions for him because of how they met, but each of them considers the other a close friend


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of Plot™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for practically vanishing on all of you, so have almost 3k words pls and thank u. since I last updated my whole life has kinda flipped, plus I kind of lost my writing spirit, and you guys deserve the best I could do, not some half assed chapter. I'm going to try my hardest to update more frequently but don't quote me just yet. but anyways I hope you enjoy the chapter!

_”I love you, Kitten.” She sighed into his hair. “I always have.”_

_He smiled, tightening his hold on her as he buried his face into her neck and inhaled her in. “I love you too.” And he did. He loved her utterly and completely, in both halves of himself. Adrien and Chat Noir as one could both agree that this girl was his other half, she completed him._

_He looked up into her blue eyes and could see the past, the future, and every secret that the universe had ever held. Yes, he loved her, and his tongue would never tired from telling her. She held his gaze in hers, him being unable to look away even if he wanted to, which he never did. “I love you so much, Buginette.”_

_She smiled down at him and pulled him up to her, kissing his nose. She was so soft with him during these moments, both of them seeming so vulnerable, but he knew better. While he might be vulnerable right now, he knew she wasn't. She was his rock, strong in all the ways he would never be. The only consistent thing in his rollercoaster of a life. He needed her in ways she would never know and he would never say._

_He came closer and she kissed him, full on and slow. “I love you, and I need you.” Kiss._

_“Chat Noir,” Kiss._

_“Adrien,” Kiss._

_“Both of you, all of you, forever. My Night and my Prince.”_

_He kissed her back just as languid and passionate. He once again looked into her eyes, feeling the bluebells pierce his soul as he spoke. “And I need you, all of you, forever, my Princess, my Marinette.”_

_She smiled at him before pulling him back to her._

\---

Adrien woke up with his face in his pillow, angry and confused. He didn't even roll over, knowing that if he could see anything, he could put his father's entire company on the bet that he would see no pink, no blue eyes, and no Marinette. Again. 

Plagg drifted over and looked down at his chosen. “Another dream? That makes... How many nights in a row?”

Adrien groaned, counting. “...36. That's a little over a month. Why am I dreaming of Mari? What's wrong with me?”

“Pretty sure it's called a crush, Kid. Not sure why you're confused honestly, you love her, I love her, what's the problem?”

Adrien looked up at his kwami with all the venom he could muster, tired of having this conversation every morning. “I. Am in love. With Ladybug. She holds my heart.”

“Well apparently she doesn't hold your subconscious as well.” He dodged the pillow the blonde chucked at him. “I'm just saying, what's so wrong with being in love with 2 people? Not to mention the fact that you've known her all your life, and during this last year you guys have grown extremely close. All of that cuddling and petting you two do, I know you don't think it's romantic but, how would you feel if she did that with Nino, who she's known forever, or even Alya?” He took Adrien’s growl as his answer. “Exactly. And would you ever do any of that stuff with Ladybug?”

“...I love my Lady, I do, but just thinking about that feels like betrayal. Mari’s more than my best friend, she's my everything Plagg.”

“Sounds romantic to me. Look Kid, if you were anybody else, I'd buy the bigger than life friendship, but I've been around long enough to know a hopeless romantic when I see one, and that's exactly what you are, through and through. You don't have it in you to not fall helplessly in love with beautiful girls who care about you.” Adrien raised one eyebrow. “Or beautiful boys, you're right, but this isn't about that time you thought Nino was cute... Honestly it probably would have saved someone a lot of time, but the great one on high has decided to steer you in the direction of your ‘Princess.’ Therefore my statement still stands, it's okay to be in love with more than one person.”

Adrien dropped his head back into his pillow. “You're right, but what do I do? Neither one of them deserves only half of me, but I can't give one of them up!”

“I can't answer that. It's something only you can find the answer to. Just follow your heart, it hasn't let you down yet.”

The boy snorted and began to respond, but a stiff knock at his door let him know that it was time for him to get ready for school, leaving whatever he was going to say trapped in his head to stew around all day. 

\---

Tonight something was...off, for lack of a better term, Marinette could feel it. Chat had been acting weird during patrol earlier, and she just knew his strange behavior would follow him into his evening visit. 

Her suspicion proved true when instead of knocking, or just coming in through the window they both knew was open, She found him sitting on her balcony’s railing, waiting on her. She looked down at her large tee shirt and shorts and knew that she shouldn't go out there on this cool Parisian night, yet she stepped out into the breeze anyways.

“Any reason you've decided to spend tonight on the balcony?” she asked, slowly crossing the small distance between them, her voice soft and low. 

He smirked at her with eyes that held many secrets. “And who said I've decided to do that?” He responded just as low.

“So why are we out here then?”

“Why Princess, I've come to sweep you off of your feet.” The look he gave her shifted something inside of her, although she could not name what it was. 

“My knight has come to steal me away? Well, as long as he returns me at a proper hour.”

He paused, and there was something feral and mischievous in his face before he looked her dead in the eyes and responded in the smoothest, deepest voice she'd ever heard him use. “Princess if I take you off of this balcony, I might not bring you back at all.”

Even though she knew he was only joking, his words shifted something inside of her. For the past few weeks, their conversations have straddled the line in between friendly banter and something... more, and she didn't quite know what to do with this turn of events. If it wasn't for the fact that he loved Ladybug, Marinette would be inclined to actually believe that the alley cat’s words were genuine. This was not the case; however, it didn't stop her from enjoying it.

She stood directly in front of him, their gaze never breaking. “It's a good thing I trust you then, huh?”

The way he smiled at her then put all of the stars in the sky behind him to shame. For a second, she swore she saw past his flirtatious attitude and glimpsed at the Chat underneath the mask, but it was quickly replaced by his usual grin as he wrapped his arm around her waist and whisked her away from her house.

In her civilian form, Marinette was supposed to act surprised at the sensation of running across rooftops, but every time he's done this, her response is almost certainly genuine. The sensation is different then that of being Ladybug. As Ladybug she’s jumping from roof to roof yes, but she's also used her yo-yo. Not only has she never used his baton before, but the act of being carried was always new. Seeing Paris fly past her in reverse was one of her favorite things. She never had time to see Paris zooming by and actually pay attention to it.

Marinette swore her stray was the cheesiest cat in all of Paris when she saw where he was taking her. Of course he would bring her to the Eiffel Tower. When she said as much, he just looked at her with that damned smirk. “Only the best for my Princess.” He told her. 

In an unorganized pile were a bunch of pillows and blankets, her blindfold that she had no idea when he took, and 2 leftover containers, one filled with sweets and the other with cheese. “What's all of this?”

He blushed and looked out at the city instead of her. “I just figured we needed a change of scenery for tonight, that's all. What better place for us than here? No one can see us, so our identities are safe, it's fresh air, and what a view...”

“You thought all of this out, huh?” She picked up the box of sweets. “Are these from my bakery?”

“The best in all of France. I bought some earlier today for us to eat now.”

“You came to the bakery in your civilian form?” She looked up at him.

“No... I gave the money to someone else. I would have went myself but in my civilian form I don't trust myself to not make a fool out of myself around you. You may think I'm charming now, but outside I have no idea how to handle myself around beautiful females.” There was that smirk again.

Marinette went red as she picked up one of the pillows and threw it at him. He caught it and threw it back at her before continuing. “Only kidding. While it's true that you are the fairest and the rarest, the most beautiful and most kind person I've ever seen, I'm more worried about how revealing myself to you in public would put us both in danger.”

“I'm the most beautiful? Who am I, Ladybug?” She laughed awkwardly. 

“It has crossed my mind once or twice, but I know you wouldn't keep that from me.” Now it was her turn to avoid making eye contact. 

Chat, having realized that he just admitted he thought his best friend was prettier than his Lady, quickly picked up the blankets, and started laying them out on the ground. Soon he had a makeshift bed of sorts, and he pulled back the top blanket and looked at her. “Your royal bed awaits.” Having recovered from her guilt trip, she picked up the sweets and sat in the middle of his set up, ignoring where he wanted to go entirely. He stood up and looked down at her. “Princess.”

She looked up at him so innocently, “Hmm?”

He sighed as if he were exasperated. “...Princess.”

“Yes Chat?”

“Get under the blankets.”

“But why?”

“You know how cold you get, now come on.”

“How are we supposed to cuddle like that?” Realizing she was going to be stubborn about this, he gave up and dropped the blanket before just laying down with his head in her lap.

“The fairest you may be, but fair you are not.” He said with a smile as he looked up at her, only to have her blow a kiss at him in reply.

They stayed like that for a while in silence, until he gave Plagg a break and she had to be blindfolded, but even after they had layed back down in a new position they were still quiet as he collected his thoughts. When he finally found the words to say, he couldn't look her in the eyes. 

“We've known each other for a long time, huh Princess?”

She laughed, “Ever since that horrible day at the park.”

“Was it really that bad? It's the beginning of our Happily Ever After.”

“No, I'm pretty sure I wanted you dead.”

“You mean our Fairy Tale was begun in violence? I'm shooketh!”

“Never say that again ever in your life. Why all the nostalgia though?”

He paused. “It’s just that you've never talked about your romantic life, and I don't believe for a second that no one has ever asked for your hand.”

“There was Nino...” She said after thinking.

He turned to look at her. “Nice try, but you were never together, he just didn't want to start his second year of collège without knowing how to kiss, so you helped him out. He wasn't even your first kiss.”

She giggled, “So who was?”

“The most charming alley cat in all of Paris.”

Her eyebrows rose and he didn't even need to remove the blindfold to know what her eyes looked like. “I never kissed Thomas O’Malley...”

He hit her with another pillow. “You're ridiculous. Besides, you know you prefer black leather over orange fur.”

“Maybe, but I'm pretty sure sodomy is illegal.”

“Hmm, well I guess it's a good thing we never went all the way. But if it's illegal to kiss cats then you're going to jail anyways because you didn’t want to start your first year of collège without knowing how to kiss either.” 

“Okay yeah but what about Nathanaël?”

“Wrong again, Mari. You held hands with him once and he's been obsessed with you ever since” The memory stirred something inside of his gut that he didn’t want to think about. “So yeah, neither of them counted, and since I know for a fact that there’s been no one else...”

“What are you implying, you mutt?”

He held his heart even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “Oh, how you wound me. I’m not implying anything, except that maybe you’ve got an eye out for someone special.”

“Mhmm, I see...” She played with his hair for a bit, thinking on how to proceed. She started to talk about Adrien, but she remembered how whenever she brought him up, Chat had the habit of clamming up for some weird reason. She didn’t want to ruin the night, but she knew that if she said nothing it’d be worse. “How about, if you drop the subject, I’ll tell you when you drop me off.”

“You have my word, Princess.” And she did.

\---

He was quiet on the way back to her bakery. Maybe he was just tired, but Marinette sensed that there was something upsetting him. 

He put her down on the balcony and just sat on the rail for a bit. “You okay, Stray?”

He jolted as if he had been zoning out. “Yeah, just tired. I should probably head home.”

“Are you sure? I don't want you falling off of rooftops anytime soon, Chat.”

“I'm good, Princess. Don't you worry your pretty little head off because of me.”

She laughed. “Well if you're sure, then I had a great time tonight, so thank you.”

“Nothing but the best for my princess.” He stood on the rail, prepared to jump, before looking down at her with his signature smirk, “You never told me who it was that stole your heart from me.”

She looked like she wanted to push him off the rail, but a deal's a deal. “Adrien. Adrien Agreste.” 

He almost fell off the roof.

After regaining his balance he looked at her. “The model?”

“Yes, but that's not why.” There was a fierceness in her voice he'd never been on the receiving end of before.

“Of course, Mari, I would never accuse you of being superficial like that, I just had to make sure we meant the same person.” He still couldn't believe it. He knew he should be happy, or even guilty, but he wasn't any of those.

He wished her goodnight and left before she could continue the conversation.

He should be over the moon because of this, his princess had a crush on his civilian self. 

So why was he so angry about it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from the dead!
> 
> So this is where the story actually kicks off with continuity and plot and all that stuff. I just needed to word build for 7 chapters :/
> 
> y'all this kitty doesn't know what to do with his life.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat is a rash kitty who doesn't think things all the way through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for all of the nice comments! I promise you I have all of the plot planned, just not the words, but bear with me please! this chapter seemed a little ooc but idk

“Bien joué!”The heroes shouted after another victory. Well, Ladybug shouted, Chat just kind of said it, as if reading a script for the first time. Ladybug made a face. Even though their miraculous were about to give out, she needed to see if he was okay. “What's wrong, Minou? You seemed off the entire battle.”

He shook his head, already extending his staff, “I'm fine, My Lady, just a little out of it. I'll see you for patrol later?”

“Yeah, sure...” but he was already gone. They normally don't do after school patrols on days when an akuma attacks during classes, but she guesses that's his way of saying he wanted to talk to her later, and Ladybug was nothing if not a good partner. So she'd be there, she just needed to make a stop right quick.

And with that, she too took off before the press could get to her.

\---

It took her a little longer to find him than usual. With him being on a random rooftop, looking for him had been a slight challenge, but when she landed behind him, and saw how upset he looked even from behind, she knew it was worth it.

She sat next to him and faced the city, as he was doing beside her. After a few minutes of silence, she shoved a box into his lap.

“What's this? Did My Lady bring me a gift?” His tone was joking, but his voice wasn't in it.

“Well, I sensed that you were down, so I went to the one person who knew how to cheer you up, and she just started preparing stuff before handing it to me, didn't even say what was in there.”

He opened the box and smiled, though it was bittersweet. “You went to go visit my Princess? For me?”

“Who else? She is your best friend...”

He snorted. “Best friend doesn't even begin to describe us, she's my everything, LB.”

She smiled, and let him eat the pastries before continuing a while later. “What was up earlier?”

He looked down at the familiar box. “It actually has to do with her, believe it or not.” Ladybug froze, what had Marinette done to upset him? “It's not even that big of a deal, it just gets under my skin.”

“What?”

He sighed. “You know that model, Adrien Agreste?”

Ladybug sighed too, but for a different reason, “Oh how I wish I did.”

Chat looked at her, deadpanning. “Not you too, My Lady. Don't tell me you're just as enamored with him as her.”

“What's so wrong with that?”

“Nothing, except for the fact that apparently every female close to me seems to be head over heels for this guy, and the fact that you don't even know him.”

“How do you know that? I could know him.”

He laughed. “Pretty sure I'd know if he knew Ladybug.”

“Oh, but you do know him, right?” Her voice was laced in sarcasm.

He scowled. “How could I not? We did grow up together.”

Marinette knew this, in the back of her mind, but her emotions caused her to forget, which in this case was good because Ladybug didn't know this. “Oh, well maybe I know him in my civilian form. Neither of you know who that is, so there.”

“‘So there?’ How mature, Bugaboo.”

“Don't mock me. You're the one who's envious of someone they supposedly grew up with.” She knew he was upset, and this wasn't helping, but she couldn't let him talk about Adrien like that.

He got up, laughing bitterly. “Envious? Me? No. For someone so observant, you sure do miss a lot. I'm not envious of your perfect little wonderboy. This right here is jealousy, through and through, right down to the green of my eyes. You would know that if you closed a photo spread every now and then.”

This attitude wasn't like him at all. She wasn't used to such negativity, and she didn't like it at all. She stood up as well. “Jealous? Why? Marinette isn't yours! I'm not yours!”

“No, not in the way you're thinking, you're not. But who met Marinette first, Me or Adrien? Me. Who met you first, me or him? Me. Both of you were mine, but as always, everyone always shows him more love, like he's better than me.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“Like I said, maybe if you took your head out of a photo spread, you'd get it.” and with that he was gone. Without thinking, she screamed her lungs out into the Paris afternoon before too retreating to her home, determined to get to the bottom of this that night.

\---

That night, it was Mari who paced. She knew another argument was coming, and she didn't know how to stop it or soften the blow.

How could Chat hate Adrien? What could he have done that was so bad? She wanted to know, but she very well couldn't just ask Adrien, and Chat was being obtuse as ever about it.

She heard footsteps and sighed, looking at Tikki. Each night she gave her the chance to tell Chat, but each night she refused. Tonight she had a reason. “Not with him this upset. What if he gets akumatized?”

Marinette would never let that happen, but she couldn't fight Chat and Tikki, so she just sighed and prepared herself.

He landed on her balcony, tense and holding the box from earlier. “Thanks... for giving these to LB, I really needed them.” He seemed to know what was coming as well.

“Of course, Stray. Anything for you.”

He sat on her bed, and both of them were quiet.

“So, why do you think Ladybug felt like giving you the sweets?”

“She saw that I was upset.”

She nodded, “Did you guys talk?” She hated how she sounded as if she were the one jealous.

“I wouldn't call that talking. I mentioned pretty boy over there,” he gestured to the pic of Adrien and Marinette on her wall, “and she got all defensive on me.”

“...What did he do to you?”

“Existed.”

“Well that helps,” Marinette snorted.

He glared at her. “What am I supposed to say? He stole everyone important from me and he's been doing that since we met?”

“I highly doubt that he-”

“Well then you haven't been paying attention.” He ignored her indignant huff. “Everyone thinks he's perfect. He's been pushed and shoved into this mold that he just so happens to be good at pretending to fill. In the eyes of the public, he can do no wrong. He's nice, sweet, adorable, innocent, and the opposite of everything they peg me to be. Different things are expected out of us, and they just so happen to like perfect more than bad luck and destruction.”

“And it's just okay to just blame him for how other people see you? How exactly does that work?”

“Because maybe if he was less perfect, they wouldn't idolize him.”

“Who is ‘they,’ Chat?” She felt herself getting wound up again. “Huh? Who is this they that you keep referring to?”

“You! It's you and Ladybug and my father and everyone else on the planet that knows me!”

“I do not idolize him!”

“Hate to break it to you Mari, but you do. You more than anyone else. Why do you think I never let you talk about him?”

“You're delusional.” She was reaching her limit, glad her parents were gone for the night.

“I am? Why else would you be obsessed with him? Explain.”

“BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH HIM!” She snapped.

Chat growled. “YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM, MARINETTE!” He took a breath, trying to calm down. “How could you be in love with someone who you don't know? Who doesn't know you?”

She threw something off of her desk at him. “You don't get to say that. You don't know Ladybug but you're so in love with her, right? At least I can get to know Adrien. I can try.” She knew she was wrong to say that, but she was pure emotions.

“You think I'd choose her over you?” Marinette asked what this had to do with herself, but he kept going. “I've known you for so many years, and you think I haven't developed any feelings for you? I told LB you're my everything, and I meant that. Yes, I fell for her at first sight, but I fell for you so long ago that loving you is like breathing. And to have you do me like everyone else by choosing Adrien breaks me up inside.”

“Chat... I...”

“I know you don't feel the same. Adrien does that to people. I honestly don't hate him, I just hate that people fall in love with these stupid versions of him that make him into something he's not, to the point where I'm on the outside looking in at a life that's supposed to be mine.”

“You're not making any sense... Are you saying that you want me to be in love with you?”

“I want you to be in love with this side of me, both sides of me.”

“What does this have to do with Adrien? I'm still so confused.”

He thought things over in his mind for a long time before sighing. “I can't do this anymore, Plagg, claws i-”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” She covered her face.

He grabbed her arms and pulled them away, holding her hands in his, “I can't fight this anymore, Mari. This secret eats me up everyday. I can't keep doing this. If being him is the only way to be loved then so be it. Plagg, claws in.” 

His eyes never left hers the entire transformation. When she realized who he was, it all became clear to her.

“Adrien?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boom.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loving you is like breathing,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rating changed for suggestive themes

_Loving you is like breathing,_

Ever since that first day at the park, Mari knew he'd be with her forever. Her number 1.

Even though she met Nino first, Chat was her person. They just clicked. There had never been anyone else she'd wanted to be with more, and she didn't see that changing. Spending time with him was what she lived for.

When she met Adrien, things shifted. Chat was still her person, but Adrien had such a beautiful heart that she couldn't help herself. He overtook her every thought, and while she admits it wasn't fair to Chat, she couldn't snap out of it.

But she guesses that's what Chat had meant after all.

_Loving you is like breathing,_

Of course she loved him. He's her best friend, and she'd be lying if she said she never once looked at him, wanting more.

When they started puberty, Marinette wasn't prepared for the extended height gap.

Wasn't prepared for the deeper voice.

Or the baby face becoming sculpted.

The wonderful way the suit clung to his new self.

When Ladybug first noticed his suit seemed tighter, she almost fell off of a roof.

So yeah, Marinette had definitely had those thoughts before. But she had ignored them for 2 reasons:

He was in love with Ladybug. Undeniable and inadmissible.

When he ever found out that she was Ladybug, he'd never talk to her again.

So she'd put him on the back burner, figuring he would want her to find someone. So she did.

She just can't believe she picked the same guy twice. Isn't she supposed to have the good luck?

_Loving you is like breathing,_

Her first kiss.

She had been panicked. Fretting over every little thing before the start of the year. A new school meant new obstacles. She'd barely conquered the old ones.

He had found her sitting in her chair, stressed and worrying her lip, not taking notice of the rest of the world. “You okay, Princess?”

Her eyes had snapped to him. “What if no one likes me?”

“Why would they not? You're the best person on earth!”

“You're biased, you've known me forever, and your only frame of reference is the mayor's daughter, who you say is overbearing and slightly superficial.”

He had sat next to her and put his head on her shoulder, “Still the best.”

“There's so many things I've never done that's supposedly like a rite of passage into collège!”

“Like what?”

“I've never been to the Eiffel Tower. I live in Paris, and I've never actually been.”

He shrugged, “I haven't either, not even in my civilian form.”

“Okay but you're homeschooled, the rules are different for you.” She moved on. “I haven't even had my first kiss!”

He had made a face, confused. “What does that have to do with school?”

“Everything! If you want people to like you, you have to have likeable stories. A first kiss is a very good one!”

“I highly doubt that...”

“I'm not lying, Chat. I've never been kissed, and because of this none of them will like me.” Thinking back on it, Marinette realized that she had been over exaggerating a tad. 

He still had asked her though.

He had been quiet for a minute before blushing and asking her, “Would you wanna...have your first kiss?” 

She had froze, “Like...?”

He cleared his throat. “Like, with me, for practice?”

“Uh, yeah... We could both benefit from it.”

They had scooted closer, and with each disappearing centimeter they each grew redder. 

After a few stumbles and mumbles and misses, Marinette got irritated and had grabbed Chat’s chin, kissing him.

After a few moments, they had pulled back, and burst out laughing.

“That was pretty bad.”

“Yeah, maybe we should've had our first kiss be with someone more experienced.”

They laughed more, before Chat asked, “Did you regret it?”

“Of course not! It was just bad. Maybe we should practice more until we get better at it.”

And that was that.

For the next few months, they practiced on each other. Of course this meant they developed feelings for each other, so once the felt they were good enough kissers, they both stopped, to preserve their friendship, thinking that it was nothing more than practice for the other.

They should've known better.

_Loving you is like breathing,_

He fit into her life seamlessly. 

He visited every night and had dinner with her and her family at least once a week. Her parents loved him as their own.

Even though she had other obligations, she always made more than enough time for him. He was always her number one priority. She had some kind of sixth sense of when he needed her, and would drop everything in a heartbeat for him. It was hard balancing her life, but she did it with no complaints just for him.

It was also the little things. 

The way she used her extra yarn and fabric to make him hats and jackets. 

How she got her parents to out Camembert on the weekly grocery list so her house was never without it.

How she always brought extra food upstairs without thinking.

How she played with his hair and let him crawl all over her while she did her homework.

In class how whenever anyone talked down on him, she's the first and the loudest defender he has.

How she'd make herself clothes, and not notice the black and green color scheme until it was too late, so she was always wearing his colors.

She'd gotten used to him being a permanent fixture in her life, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't love it. 

Secretly, she did too.

_Loving you is like breathing,_

He was her first wet dream.

She was glad that she didn't talk in her sleep, so no one ever heard her, but he'd been the star of most if not all of them.

His hands, his mouth, his body, his voice, his eyes plagued her. 

Some days she can't look him in the eyes, scared to think that he'd see all of the things she wanted him to do to her in her gaze.

How she wanted his hands on her, not fast, but rough and unyielding.

How she could sometimes feel the imaginary bruises for weeks on end.

How everyday she cursed whoever decided to let him beat the crap out of puberty.

Yeah, she was screwed.

_Loving you is like breathing,_

She looked at him, now detransformed in front of her very eyes.

She looks at Adrien and sees him in all of the memories she has with Chat. Sees Chat in all the memories she has with Adrien.

Noticing the similarities. Wondering how she never saw it, how she never let herself see it.

She sees his self hatred for what it really was: a need for equality. A cry for help, for love.

She sees why he's never been close to anyone except her, even as Adrien.

The little things she ignored.

The arguments. Avoiding even mentioning his other self.

Adrien's love for Ladybug. His interest in Marinette. 

She had never understood why he tried so hard to apologize that first day, and had figured it was because he was extra nice. Now she got it.

She looked at him and saw herself, how he saw her, and how she truly was, and realized that she couldn't be mad at him for being Adrien, not when she was so much worse. 

So she did the only thing she could thing of. 

“Transform back.”

“Do you need me to leave?” He tried to pull away, scared, but she wouldn't let him.

“Transform back, Chat. You cut me off earlier, and I want to finish.”

And so, although very confused, he did.

Chat Noir and Marinette stared at each other, before Mari acted.

She grabbed his chin, and kissed him, just like their first.

_Loving you is like breathing,_

“Did you really think I didn't love you too?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hrrrrrrrrrrgh these children kill me.
> 
> Also, I know nothing about the French education system, so if it seems vague, that's why
> 
> PS: I suck at HTML wtf I posted this like 5 times


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explanations. It's time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with another 2k chapter... don't get used to these, I'm not actually that good at fleshing out my stories. If you can put 10k in one chapter then u da realest bro...

The next morning, before sunrise and before Adrien left, Marinette slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom, with dread filling in the pit of her stomach. Even though her and Adrien hadn't gone any further than kissing the night before, she knew what would happen when he woke up. 

What he would ask.

What she couldn't give him.

She looked in the mirror, ran her hand through her hair, and gave a broken laugh.

Adrien Agreste was her Chat Noir. Wasn't that just perfect? 

She thanked her luck, before looking in the mirror and wondering if she should thank Tikki or Plagg.

She was leaning more towards Plagg if she was honest.

She should be over the moon right now, but all she could think about was the fact that when she went back out there, she'd have to break everyone's heart.

She couldn't date him. She loved him and he was her everything, but she couldn't date him.

He deserved someone who'd give him 100%, and Marinette wasn't even sure if she could give that last bit. 

If she could, she'd have told him that first day, but no matter how much it kills her, it's not just her secret to keep.

Tikki wouldn't let her, and she wouldn't tell her chosen why. Marinette hated this, but she couldn't do anything about it.

She hated being hopeless.

As that thought crossed her mind, two figures floated into her bathroom, one dragging the other.

“Plagg? Tikki?”

He dropped Tikki’s arm and pointed at the human. “Look at her. She's not ‘alright,’ and she doesn't ‘agree with the way things have to be.’”

“She knows that she can't tell him, Plagg. You know this too.”

“But you won't tell her why. She's hurting and you obviously don't care as long as your precious rules are followed. _Look. At. Her._ Now, Tikki.” His voice was laced with anger, which was unusual.

Tikki did look at her chosen, who just stared back, not able to form words. Tikki looked for all of about 10 seconds before she couldn't take the big blue eyes rimmed with red. “What am I supposed to do, Plagg? I have a job. They're not just my rules, all 7 of us have to follow them! You're just neglectful of your duty.”

“I'm neglectful?” He scoffed, “Please go look at my cat because I think you missed him. Fast asleep after the best sleep of his life. Whenever he's needed anything, I've made sure he got it. I've given that boy so much. The only three things I can't give him are his mother, his father, and his Lady, which are all out of his reach because of other kwami. Present company included, obviously. Anything else he wants, he has because of me. I've dropped hints to his father to get him to cancel shoots to give him a break, hell I'm the reason he's even in that school. I've held my transformation so long that I'm the one in danger just so he can come here and breathe for one night! He's going to wake up a whole new happy person this morning, but from the looks of your girl over there, she's gonna break him, Tikki. She's gonna break my boy and it's your fault. She doesn't want to blame you, so I'll do it for her. This is on you.”

Marinette stood there, eyes wide. She looked at Tikki, and she saw that the bug kwami wasn't sorry at all.

“No. I'm not taking the heat for this one. We had 2 jobs. Keep them all separate, and stop Hawkmoth. In that order. You saw what happened when we let 2 chosens get close. That cannot happen again. You broke the first rule. His unhappiness is on you. Ignorance is bliss, Plagg.”

“Does she look happy? Was she happy before, when she didn't know? Is she happy not knowing why she can't tell him? That doesn't look happy to me. Which one of us is gonna take the blame for that, Tikki?” He turned to the door, in the direction of Adrien, still asleep. “And you act like this hasn't happened before, 2 chosens finding each other. It happens in all of the good times, and only some of the bad. You know this. Nothing ends well when they don't know.”

“Yes, but if they know, then it could be disastrous.”

“Don't they deserve to choose?! You act as if they're unstable!”

“Of course they are! They're teenagers! They don't even know what they want for breakfast!”

Marinette reeled back at her words. “No, Marinette! I didn't mean it like tha-”

Plagg cut her off. “Yes you did. Don't lie to her.” He sighed. “Besides, Hawkmoth is an adult, and look at how unstable he is, always was. This had nothing to do with his partner. She was just the only one who could ground him.”

“Oh you mean how Marinette is with Adrien?”

“Don't you dare compare my boy to that monster.” The room grew dark. “I thought you were above that rumor. Marinette is his other half. Not his grounding force. If anything, he grounds her. He's the good within the bad of this Yin and Yang. Never forget that. He was chosen because of that good and I will not have you erase that from your mind. He's the shield and she's the sword. They work together.”

Marinette did speak then. “What rumors?”

They both looked at her, not sure how to respond. Tikki started, “Don't worry about it, they're nothing.”

“No. You don't get to judge him and then gloss over it. The other kwami felt as if it was wrong for me to choose him because of his negative upbringing and home life. They feel as if he's prone to the dark side of his powers, and that he'd join Hawkmoth instead of you. They look too much at the ‘bad’ part of bad luck, not understanding that it's a phrase that hinders him, not everyone else. I keep saying that he experiences the bad luck, he can't utilize it because of the fact that he has bad luck with using the bad luck.”

“So like,” She tried to understand. “Because of the fact that he has bad luck, whenever he tries to use it, it doesn't work like he wants it to because of the fact that he's unlucky?”

“Yes, exactly. Not even 20 and you're smarter than Tikki. Her and the other kwami don't get that.” He looked at Tikki pointedly. “The opposite goes for you, Marinette.”

“But I'm the most unlucky person!”

“That's because you and your kwami don't fully trust each other, and are both holding back from each other.”

“You're telling me that I'm supposed to be able to wield pure good luck? Isn't that dangerous?”

“Yes to both. Which is why it's kind of good luck within itself that you can't because between you and Adrien, you're the most unstable.” 

“Yeah, I can admit to that... Guess it's a good thing you're not mine then, huh?”

Tikki tried to stop him but Plagg was faster. “Well technically, I am yours just as much as I am his, and just as much as Tikki is yours, she is also his. You can use me just as he can use Tikki. That's what makes you partners. You balance each other, and therefore, were chosen together. Which one of us you received was based upon how it would balance you internally. Your impulsive nature was on the same level as his self sacrificing nature. Giving you Ladybug made you the bad within her good, to complete our Yin and Yang. You see, The idea has 4 parts, which means 4 people are needed to complete it. Doesn't matter which order, just as long as one positive and one negative are paired. Me and you are negative energy, which means that while we work good together, we cannot team up unless the situation requires it. Same with Tikki and Adrien, too much of a good thing is just as bad. You and Adrien are a completion on your own on a personal and emotional level, like me and Tikki. But you and Tikki together only make Yang. Which needs Yin. The two halves cannot complete anything without the other, which is something I thought Tikki knew. She seems to forget she doesn't have the most power out of the four of us. She also seems to forget which of the two of you is in charge.”

“For someone who doesn't care you sure have a lot to say.” Tikki said, rather upset. “Neither of us are in charge. I'm her kwami and she's my chosen.”

“And you have _chosen_ to serve her. This is _her_ life. You stated all of those rules, but you forgot the most important one. The one we follow with every set of chosens. They have the power. We may help them, but without us, they can do many things on their own that we cannot do without them. We have to be compatible with them, not the other way around.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“That she can do what she wants, but she's nice enough to respect you, even though you clearly don't respect her. You owe her either a pass, or an explanation.”

“She doesn't owe me anything...”

“Yes she does. You're about to go out there and destroy him before the sun rises. She owes you everything.”

Tikki sighs. “Fine. I'll tell you why he can never know.”

“Coward.”

She huffed at him. “Get out.”

“Nah.”

“So...”Marinette was growing irritated with them both of them.

“There's another reason we rightfully fear Adrien. His parentage makes us wary of his morals.” She ignored Plagg.

“Why?”

“They give us reason to believe that if he ever got upset after knowing who you are, he'd tell Hawkmoth, whether he means to our not.”

“How would his parents cause him to do that? Stop beating around the bush.”

“His mother was the wielder of the Peacock miraculous.”

Well that explained why he liked her more, she thought. But wait... 

“That can't be, because then that would mean...”

They nodded. “His father is Hawkmoth.”

She gasped. “Does he know?”

“Despite what they think, he doesn't know. Hawkmoth is unaware as well. If Adrien knew he'd probably either move in with you, or try to take him out by himself.” He smiled a little. “However I am glad that your first thought was to worry about him.”

“Of course. He's my...” she frowned, not thinking of a label. “He's mine. And I look after what's mine.”

He looked at Tikki. “And you know he feels the same, but he doesn't deserve to know who she is because of his father. Your prejudice is showing.”

“You know what He did to his partner. Who knows if Adrien will do the same?”

Marinette had never seen Plagg get so angry. “He is not his father!! He is nothing like him. At all! His father was never around enough for Adrien to learn anything from him. He is unstable, impulsive, rash, narrow minded, stubborn, unyielding, and so many other things that my boy is not!”

Marinette paused, all of these things sounding familiar. She cleared her throat, getting their attention. “Adrien most certainly is none of those things, but I am... does this mean that I could become evil?”

“Of course not.” Tikki.

Plagg looked ready to fight her. “Everyone has both the potential of good and evil within them. All that matters is what they choose to fight for. Yes, you have many of these traits, which is why you got Tikki, but what matters is that he chose power, and you chose Adrien. You chose Chat. Your parents, Alya, Nino, even Chloé. You chose love, Adrien did too, and that's something Hawkmoth never understood.”

Tikki spoke. “He chose to get rid of his own partner in order to get power.”

“What?!”

“There's a Connection between chosen and kwami that neither one can control. The combination of human and kwami.”

“So, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Hawkmoth... they're all their own person?”

“In a way. They have their own mind that coexists with both us and you, but they can also think for themselves. The Connection seeks out the need of the human, and uses our magic to fulfill this need. Sometimes the Connection acts on its own, without permission. Both the human and kwami are aware, but unable to stop it. You know how sometimes while you're transformed, you can do things that you don't know how you did? Your body just moves on it own?”

“Yeah, but I thought that was just Tikki...”

“She can't take over your body. That's Ladybug, or your Connection, helping you, guiding you.”

“Okay and what does this have to do with...” She couldn't say his name, still not believing it on some level.

“The Connection is more powerful when the human is already evil. When the human doesn't chose to do good because they want to, but rather because someone else wants them to. This causes the human’s needs to be unmet. Hawkmoth was only good because his wife wanted him to be. This meant he could never get the power he craved. So his Connection made him choose a ‘Champion’ who crashed into her limo and then set it on fire. With her no longer in the way, he can be as powerful as he wanted. The only issue is, he needed her. So now, him, his kwami, and their Connection work together to take us from you, so he can try to bring her back to life.”

“Heavy...”

“Very. Which is why Adrien can never know any of this. It could send him in the wrong direction.”

“I keep telling you that if you honestly believe that, then you don't know him.” Plagg rolled his eyes. 

“You don't know that. So she can't tell him anything.”

“So what you're saying is that now she has even more to keep from him? Nice going. Don't you think he'll be more upset when he finds out that she's keeping this from him?”

Marinette opened her mouth to agree, when a half asleep Adrien appeared at the open bathroom door yawning. “Keep what from who?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there.
> 
> So before I explain myself, I just want to say that this is not where I wanted the story to go. Back in chapter 1 I knew where it was ending, just not how to get there, but after about 5 chapters, I realized that my specific characterizations of our beloved heroes, specifically Adrien, didn't have the stomach for what I originally had planned. My brain child has a mind of it's own, and who am I to stop them? If you want to know how I wanted it to go then just let me know and I'll post a one shot with an outline or smthn.
> 
> Moving on...
> 
> PLAGG SAID THE FIRST CUSS WORD AND IM UPSET. I wanted Mari to say fuck :/
> 
> I just wanted Plagg to defend his kitten. and he did.
> 
> Please don't hate Tikki. I mean, I kinda do but it's different. She's just one of those perfectionists that try to follow every rule. She's never understood how sometimes, you have to pick a rule to break. 
> 
> Also, even though all of the Kwami wanted Adrien to have the ring, they're all extremely prejudiced... It's an issue that will come up again. 
> 
> hmu.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before reading, I just want you guys to know that I'm thankful for all of your comments. Even though I may not respond, I read every single one and I sit here refreshing my stuff all the time. I've decided, since all of you seem to be so adamant, I'm going to move my timetable for the reveal up. She will tell him as soon as possible. Just not in this chapter. I actually have no clue how to do the reveal, which is part of why I've been pushing it off, buy you all have spoken.
> 
> To compensate for the sadness at the beginning which exists for no reason but to make my mom cry, I've combined this chapter and the next one, and given it to you all in chapter 12.
> 
> Speaking of my mom, I want to reiterate the fact that I live for your feedback. My mom doesn't understand why I'm not spending my time writing something that I can make money off of, doesn't understand that I'm not writing for me I'm writing for you guys. I love you all!!

Tikki never disappeared so fast in her life. Plagg didn't even see where she went. Quite frankly, he didn't care. He was hurt, not only by her behavior towards his chosen, but by how she treated her own. Plagg has loved Marinette since he met her, which was only a few months after he was given to Adrien. Chat grew up with Marinette, so whatever he knew about her (everything), Plagg also knew. He just couldn't believe that Tikki would just completely ignore her chosen’s feelings. He knew she was a stickler, but nothing came before how the humans feel. 

He guessed that's why neither of them can unlock their full potential.

Marinette shook herself physically, having been frozen at the sight of Adrien. “Hey Kitty... How long have you been up?” She knew she had to learn to not refer to him as Chat while he was Adrien, but fully accepted the fact that she would.

Adrien, who hadn't heard a single word before walked in, shrugged. “I don't know, I just came to a few minutes ago to an empty room though.” He smiled at her, face glowing. “What were you talking about?”

She thought quick, “Alya and Nino. They've been on a few dates, but she won't go out with him because she's scared. Nino thinks it's because she doesn't like him, and Plagg thinks that when he finds out that she really does like him, he'll be upset because she wasn't straight forward enough to trust him, But you know Alya and commitment...” Plagg was amazed at her recovery.

“Oh I get it, yeah he would.” He walked over to the mirror where she stood, wrapping his arms around her waist and laying his head in the crook of her neck. “At least we don't have that problem, right Princess?”

Plagg looked away, not wanting to see this.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

He laughed, making her shiver. She loved this boy. She hated herself.

But she's gonna do this one thing right. 

“We're together right?”

“Currently, yes.”

“Don't play, Mari. You're my Princess and I’m your Prince,” He felt her freeze. “Right?”

She sighed and broke away from him. “Adrien...”

His face fell, and she could hear both hearts breaking. “Is it because I'm me?”

“No!”

“Then why don't you want me? Why doesn't anyone want me?” He didn't sob, but the tears were streaming.

She reached a hand to his face, ignoring how he pulled from her. Wiped his tears and made him focus on her. “Don't you ever say I don't want you. I've wanted you, both sides of you, for so long. I've fought myself because of how much I love you, how much I want you. We can't be together because I refuse to let you settle for me.” She kept talking as he tried to cut him off. “There are things that you don't know, that I want to tell you so much, but I can't because they're not just my secrets to tell, and I need you to understand that. When you discover these things, I don't want you to hate me, but I know that you will. It would be worse if I allowed us to label our relationship. I need you to trust me on this, Stray. This is out of my hands and I refuse to let you suffer because of it. But don't you dare say that I don't love you. Ever.”

He looked away from her, not being able to look at the fire in her eyes. “So we can't be together because of other people?”

“No. These secrets involve both of us.”

“So why can't I know?!”

“Again, they're not mine to tell. I love you with all of my heart. Don't think I don't. I'm just bound by this. I can't tell you. Trust me.”

He goes silent for awhile, thinking it over. He knew that he trusted her, but she doesn't trust him, and he doesn't understand why. He loves her to death, and he knows that if she could, he'd already know. That doesn't mean he's not hurt. Doesn't mean he doesn't want her. He felt so conflicted.

“I... I trust you,” He spoke slowly. “but I can't let you go. I just got you.” His voice was soft, pleading, breaking.

“I'm not going anywhere, Kitty. I just won't let you commit to me without all of the facts. You deserve so much better.”

“...What if I don't commit?”

“What?” She could see the nonsense swirling around in his head.

“What if we were together, but not committed to each other? So that when this whole thing you think is a bad thing blows up, you won't feel bad for deceiving me, and I won't feel bad if I want to leave, which I never will, but still?”

“That...Is a horrible idea. What even? So, an open relationship type deal? We be together, no strings? We're already to involved for that.”

“Mari I'm trying. You can't go all the way, and I can't live with nothing. Please meet me halfway. Compromise. We can still hang out and spend alone time together. Who says we have to label us? I'm yours, forever. Even if you feel like you can't give yourself to me completely, just being with you makes my day just a little better. I'm not giving that up for some secret that isn't even yours.”

She walked out of the bathroom, back to her room. “It's not just some secret though, it's many secrets that connect to everything we both know and hold dear. I refuse to let anything happen to you just because I want to be selfish!” She looked up at him, tears gathered in her eyes.

He placed his hand on her cheek, his face suddenly so close, as he spoke quietly. “And that's exactly why I can't let you go, Princess.”

This kiss wasn't like any of their others, it was slow, thought out, and even though it didn't last long, Mari knew her resolve was gone.

She sighed once they pulled apart. “...I'm going to regret this, aren't I?”

His face lifted as he rushed to quickly kiss her. She Laughed and shoved him off. “Yeah yeah, I love you too. Now off.”

“I gotta get home anyways.”

She paused, remembering all that Plagg and Tikki had just told her. Worry creeped into her voice. “Now? What time do they wake you up?”

“Nathalie doesn't come get me until it's time for me to leave.”

“Which is...”

“I've got like 2 more hours.”

“Then stay.” She pulled him back to the bed. “I wanna get used to Adrien Agreste in my bed.”

He laughed. “Just a little bit longer couldn't hurt.”

\---

He said he'd pick her up for school. 

She's riding to school with Adrien. 

Who is her not official boyfriend.

She should probably tell Alya...

She answered on the third ring. “You okay? Something must have happened for you to be alive enough to use a phone before school.”

The girls laughed as Mari finished getting ready. “Just calling to tell you the scoop before it happens and you kill me.”

“Ooooh, morning gossip, hit me.”

“...Adrien's taking me to school. And he might be doing that for a while.”

She held the phone away from her face as the other girl screamed. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! HOW DID YOU GET THAT TO HAPPEN? SPILL!”

“Calm down! I needed help with the physics homework last night, which he seems to be the only one who is good at it, so after almost giving myself an aneurism, I called him for help.”

“Not explaining the ride... Or how you're so calm about this, you are extremely calm. I'm not understanding.”

“Then stop interrupting so I can tell you! The call got a little long, and you know how I get when I'm sleepy.”

“Loose lipped as crap.”

“Alya!”

“Sorry...”

“Mhmm, so one thing led to another and it turned out that he was interested in me as well, so he offered to give me rides to school to spend more time with me.”

Alya squealed. “YOU’RE DATING ADRIEN AGRESTE?”

“No! He can't date because if his father.”

“So...You're together, just not committed? Like an open relationship?”

“He used those exact words... Even though that still implies that we're dating.”

“That's not a no...”

“That's because you're right.”

Another scream.

Her phone buzzed. “I gotta go, he's here. Tell Nino so he's not left out. Just in case Adrien forgot to tell him.”

“Way ahead of you, you've been on speaker the entire call.”

“Hey Mari!”

Crap. “...Hey... Well I have to go, bye!” She hung up before either of them responded.

She still felt horrible, and she still hated herself, but she still put on a smile, grabbed her things, and got in the limo.

\---

Alya looked down at her phone with a frown. “Did she just...?”

“Call you, tell you that she's finally dating the love of her life with an extreme calmness, then hang up on you without a real explanation?” Nino chuckled. “Yeah, I think she did.”

She gave him a dirty look. “Okay but they're not dating?”

“You actually believe that? How well do you know them?” He laughed. “Look, I grew up with Mari, and I spend my free time on the phone with Adrien.”

“Gay.”

He held up their hands, the ones that were intertwined with each other. “I actually prefer Bisexual but okay.”

“No, you guys are like 95% married. Mari and I are too, it's okay. It can be like we're all dating each other. OT4, but continue on with your point.”

He made a note to bring that back up later. “Like I was saying, I know pretty much everything there is to know about them, well, more than anyone else does. Well, except Chloé. The only way that anyone could know Adrien better than her is if they met him first. Anyways, Mari has crazy insecurity issues, like she thinks people will love her more if she hides herself. She probably feels like she's not good enough for Adrien.”

“I know. Everyone knows.”

“Okay well I bet you don't know that she has a secret best friend.”

“What?”

“Yeah. We've been together since diapers, but when we were six, she stopped playing with me as much. We were still close, but not like we were. One day, when we were 13, I came over to visit her, and I heard voices from her open bedroom window. One of them was too deep to be hers. Her parents let me in anyways, and when they told her I was there to see her, there was a lot of banging and shouting and shooing before she let me up. I asked, but all I got out of her is that he's her best friend, but no one can know about him or both him and her would be in danger. Obviously, there was only one person her best friend could be, I mean really, she lived above a bakery. How many people can disappear off of the top of a building? But I let her keep her secret because I understood, on some level, you know?”

Alya nodded. “Yeah, I know, but I'm not sure what that has to do with this.”

“That's not a friendship that just goes away. They're still best friends, and I bet Mari feels that she doesn't deserve to date him unless she can tell him everything about her, and I bet it has to do with that.”

“Yeah that sounds like her.”

“I know, right? And Adrien. Well, he's persistent. He's had a thing for her ever since that first day. He was never really subtle. His issue is that he feels as if no one likes him for him instead of his name. Marinette is the first person to actually have a crush on him that wasn't fueled by his fame.”

“Yeah, I remember her hating him. She flipped 180° so fast.”

“Alya. Interrupting.”

“Oops. Sorry.”

“Adrien isn't letting her go anytime soon. She said the whole ‘not dating’ thing was his idea, so I think he suggested it so he could still be with her because let's face it, he's a little selfish when it comes to her.”

“Selfish? Nah, I'd argue possessive though.”

He shook his head. “So, are we just gonna let them figure this out on their own?”

“Yeah but as soon as they do, I'm getting on her being best friends with Chat Noir.”

“Alya...”

“What? I thought I was number 1. I feel cheated.”

Nino rolled his eyes at his girlfriend, pulled out his phone, and squeezed their hands as they waited for Adrien’s limo to pull up.

\---

When they arrived at the school, she looked around for Alya before getting out. Once she saw her pointing at the limo, only then did she step out before Adrien.

The reaction was instant. Everyone who could see them started staring. Not that quiet kind of stare either. It was that ‘omg look!’ and ‘do you see that?’ kinds of stares. 

She heard screaming and quickly hurried to Alya and Nino, dragging Adrien by their linked hands, but when she got over there, she saw that the noise didn't come from her.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell Chloé.”

“You had one job, Adrien.” Marinette said.

All three friends turned to look at Adrien as another blonde head literally landed on top of him.

She screeched an unholy sound. “ADRIKINS NOOOOO!”

Marinette laughed and let him go, walking towards the school.

“You're just gonna leave me here Princess?!” Came a shout from under all the yellow.

“If I had to tell Alya alone, then you have to handle Chloé.”

Said blonde gasped dramatically“ALYA KNEW BEFORE ME?”

“And Nino.” The DJ included himself with a laugh, knowing that he wasn't helping. 

A pause, then: “AND NINO???”

Alya, Nino, and Marinette laughed as the left Adrien to deal with all of the “BOO HOO!”s he brought on himself.

\---

Marinette flopped onto her bed. There was an akuma attack during their last class of that day. Needless to say, she just wanted to pass out and maybe never wake up.

But life was a cruel mistress.

So instead of the nap she was about to take, she sat up and called for her kwami. She needed to have this conversation.

“Tikki!”

“Yes Marinette?” They hadn't spoken much since the bathroom. Granted, it was only this morning, but still. 

“We need to talk about this morning.”

The kwami paused, in the middle of eating her cookie. “I thought your conversation with Chat Noir this morning had signified that you've made your decision. The right decision.”

“No, I'm still going to tell him. I just wanted to have this talk with you before I do. I need to tell him I'm ladybug before I can explain anything else to him, and I wanted to inform you.” She went over to her work desk. She needed to work on some designs anyways.

“Marinette you cannot tell him!”

She didn't look up. “I didn't say that I wanted to consult you. I said I wanted to tell you. You no longer have an opinion. At first, I thought you just wanted to protect us both from Hawkmoth. But now I understand that you don't care if I know who he is. You just don't want him to know. Due to your prejudices and biased opinion, I've decided that while you need to know what I'm doing if it concerns you, you don't have a choice in the matter. I'm telling him. Soon. I just need to figure out how.”

“Marinette...”

“No Tikki. You don't even know him, yet you've passed judgment on him. I can't believe you. You don't deserve to say anything. I just hope he can forgive you for that. I hope Plagg can too. His love for you transcends any human definition, but even he knows that you're wrong. You've hurt your partner, your other half, and you don't even seem to care. You better hope he forgives you.”

Tikki opened her mouth in defense, but footsteps on the roof caused her to hide instead.

Mari frowned. “He's early. We'll finish this conversation later.”

He came bounding in, dropping his transformation immediately, walking over to his girlfriend. He wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling the back of her neck. “Has my Princess missed me?”

She smiled. “She's been in her tower all afternoon, waiting for her night to rescue her.”

“Well he's here now.”

“Where? All I see is some alley cat.”

He picked her up, loving her little squeal, and dropped her onto the bed. “I'll show you an alley cat.”

This is how tickle wars start.

His hands flew to her stomach and she squeaked. “Stop!” she tried to stop him but his hands were too fast. She was going to die. So much laughter.

What happened next had neither of them laughing though. 

Her mom shouted up the stairs. “Marinette! Alya is here!”

The two froze, wide eyed before she shoved him off of the bed with a resonating thud. “Transform and get out. Nowww!”

He nodded, getting up and transforming at the same time, but it was too late to get to the window, so she panicked and did what she does whenever her parents come up: She picked him up and threw him into the bathroom. 

“You've gotta stop doing that.”

“Make me. Now shush! try to get to the window, I'll distract her.”

There was no time for any other words as Alya popped into her room. “Hey girl, you okay? There was a lot of banging.”

“Yeah, I was just sleep when Maman called, and I fell out the bed. I'm good, what's up?”

“I need to edit the footage of the akuma battle, but my little sisters were being monsters, so I figured I'd just come here.”

“Oh yeah that's cool, can I see?” She sat on bed in a way that forced Alya to face away from the window.

Alya sat with a smirk as she opened her laptop. “You've never been interested in the Ladyblog before. Finally got bit by the fan bug, huh?”

“I've always cared, I'm just always busy.” She waved her hand behind Alya and Chat crept towards the window.

“And you're conveniently free right now. I wonder why that is.” She adjusted her seating position, causing both Mari and Chat to freeze.

“I just woke up from a nap” Not a complete lie...Yes it was.

Alya nodded, and Chat began moving again. He could taste the victory.

“So, show me the footage.”

Alya pulled it up and showed Mari the video. She apparently needed to edit only the parts with Chat in them, which would send warning symbols to Mari, but she was more focused on getting rid of him. 

He blew her a kiss and jumped off of her balcony. She let out a relieved sigh and looked back to Alya’s laptop screen.

After a few minutes, without even looking up, Alya spoke. “You do know I knew he was here the whole time right?”

Marinette had no words. Alya laughed.

“So when were you going to tell me you had a superhero best friend?”

“Fuck.”

\---

“Hey Chat!” Someone called from down below. 

He looked for the source of the sound, finding none other than Nino. He landed in his window. “Hey is everything okay?”

Nino chuckled. “With me, yeah. Is everything okay with you?”

“... I'm good, why?”

“Well giving that my girlfriend, Alya, just texted me telling me that she's at Marinette's house, and that's the direction you just came from, I was just wondering if she caught you.”

Chat went wide eyed. “You sent Alya?”

“No. I've never met anyone who could make her do anything. She's just a little bummed that You're Mari’s best friend and she's not.”

“How long have you known?”

Nino sat on his bed. “Since she was my best friend.”

Chat scratched the back of his head. “Since the beginning then. You kept quiet?”

“You guys needed each other. It'd be kinda messed up if I ruined that.”

“You're not mad?”

Nino shook his head, smiling. “Nah, I've got my own best friend now. You and Alya can fight over Mari. Adrien’s enough of a best friend for me.” He took note of how Chat's face lifted.

“You sure?”

“Yeah I'm good. I mean, neither of you can touch the kind of relationship I have with my Nettie, but...”

“Nettie?” Chat snorted.

“Yeah, I called her that once when we were 4, and she chased me around her living room. It was awesome.”

Chat laughed. “Can I use that?”

“Unfortunately not. I know you're a superhero, but I'd bet good money on her killing you.”

“So would I.” He smiled.

Nino’s phone rang. “Hello? Hey babe.” Chat froze. “Chat Noir? Yeah, huh? Okay.” He handed the phone over. “I cannot believe my girlfriend called me to talk to you.”

The cat took the phone slowly. He could hear Mari screaming in the background. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this the best friend stealer?”

“Well technically she was mine before yours.”

Alya huffed. “Irrelevant. I've already fussed out our designer to be over here, and I've forgiven her. You however, can never be forgiven. I love you and all that you do, but Mari is special. You better know that.”

He smiled. “Yeah, she's the best.”

“Hold your horses there, kitty cat. That's a lot of affection in your voice. You do know that she's involved in a relationship with supermodel Adrien Agreste, correct?”

The screeches got louder, and he chuckled. “I am aware.”

“Uh huh, and are you also aware that Mari has been in love with that boy since the first day she met him? She used to trip over her very life whenever she saw him.” She paused. “Mari no, he needs to hear this. Anyways, she's wanted this boy for so long that when they got together the planet itself said ‘finally.’ Do you understand this?”

He knew she loved Adrien, of course, just not for how long. “Is that so? She's been in love with him for that long, huh?” He couldn't help the smile that stretched onto her face.

“Yep. And if you mess this up for her in any way, I'll skin you alive and save Paris myself, get it?”

He gulped. “Got it.”

“Good.” She hung up.

Chat gave the phone back to Nino. “Alya’s a little over the top.”

Nino laughed. “She has to be to keep up with Mari’s antics, although you know that, don't you Adrien?”

“Yeah- Wait what? How'd you know?” He almost fell out of the window, felt like jumping.

“The way your face lit up when she was talking about you. No guy feels that good while being told about his female friend fawning over another guy.”

“That obvious?”

“Only to me. Does Mari know?”

“I told her last night... That feels like forever ago.”

“Anybody else?”

“Hopefully not, bro.”

“Not even Chloé?”

“Why would she know?”

Nino just looked at him. “You're not that smart, are you? Look, don't worry about it. Just know that you should really talk to her because I promise you she knows, and she's hurt that you didn't tell her. It's probably why she hates Mari so much.”

“...This is making too much sense.”

“It's almost as if someone's using me to explain stuff to everyone today.”

“What?”

“Nothing bro, you should probably go save your girlfriend from mine.”

“Yeah... How'd she know I'd be over here? Does she know?”

“Nah, she's just scary.”

He got up to leave and Nino got up too. “No hug for your mediator?”

Chat laughed and hugged Nino. “Just two bros, hugging it out.”

“Nah, bro. You used your superhero identity to come visit me. You came in through my window, it's more than that. Besides, Alya says we're married, so this is appropriate.”

Chat laughed. “We kind of are.”

“Where's my ring rich boy?”

“Mari would kill me. What about really nice matching bracelets?”

Nino shoved the hero off of him laughing. “I'm holding you to that, now go. She needs you.”

With a laugh, Chat was gone.

Nino sighed. Maybe 98% married.

Oh well, that's for another timeline, he thought pulling a mysterious box out of his dresser. He opened it and looked at its contents.

A blue peacock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to expand the story to more than just the love square interactions (minus Ladrien bc I actually cannot write Ladrien?). I want to include more people into this universe. I have some one shots drafted for them that I'll be posting separately, so be on the look out! I'm already finished with some of them.
> 
> Ninooooooo. My baby. My child. My voice. I'm not gonna lie. I did give him the miraculous just so that I can use him as a platform to explain what's going on in my mind as I write. Also he's the only one I trust to see the future. He hasn't made a public appearance yet because he knows that it's not time.
> 
> Soon we'll have Volpina Alya and Queen Bee Chloé, you just wait. It's gonna be awesome. I just have to get Mari to confess.
> 
> Last thing. I wasn't kidding. I have no idea how to do the reveal. If you guys have an idea, you can comment here, or hmu on tumblr and let me know! Until next time.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the moment you've all been waiting for™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> u guys its been a wild ride since the last chapter
> 
> My mom's car got towed in the middle of the night, even though the bill wasn't even due :/
> 
> My grandmother bought me a car for graduation, but no one knows where it is...
> 
> My college financial aid department keeps forgetting to tell me I need signatures in certain places (I've been up there like twice in the past week)
> 
> But in the midst of all of that (plus other sucky stuff) I bring u chapter 13.
> 
> The reveal. I wanna thank thedarkwhiteangel for giving me the idea to do it as Ladybug.
> 
> The rest of the chapter was kind of ooc for Adrien, but not really. In my universe, Adrien isn't a violent person. He's not a pushover of any kind, but he's not a bully either, if ur picking up what I'm laying down... But, I'm giving him the reaction that anyone would have if they figured out that their mother was killed.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! And make sure to read the end notes to see why, unfortunately, this might be the last update for a while.

Over a week. That's how long it took for Ladybug to have enough alone time with Chat. 

She had decided that in order to tell him about his past, She needed to reveal herself first, so she could cause the least amount of confusion.

She wanted to do it as Ladybug.

The only issue, was that Hawkmoth seemed to sense that he wasn't needed for a few days, which of course meant that he found a way to be relevant for 10 days.

She was getting sick of him. If she was being honest with herself, on the fifth day, she was ready to crash into his house and stop him right there all by herself. Somehow, she found the strength to breathe.

Chat deserved to know. 

That was her whole motivation for this. Her best friend deserved to know who his partner was from her. Everyone else (Nino) seemed to be finding everything out, and She needed Chat to find out from her, not anyone else.

Finally, after 10 days, it was time.

Before they went on patrol, she had told him she had something she needed to tell him. His response was that he did too, so now after they had finished, she led him in a familiar direction, hoping he didn't catch on to the fact she was doing it on purpose.

Both of them were anxious as they landed on Marinette's roof. 

Chat knew where they were, of course, but he didn't know that she did, and he tried to act inconspicuous, so she wouldn't ask anything. 

He wanted to tell her that he told Mari his secret identity. He needed to tell her, explain to her. Hopefully she wouldn't be too mad at him.

She turned to face him. “You should probably go first. What I have to say will take all night, and I want to give you a chance to talk.”

He nodded. Time to just rip the band-aid off. “I showed a civilian my true identity.”

Ladybug blinked. “What?” She honestly thought he had figured her out and was about to scold her, not this.

“You know Mari. My best friend? Well, recently we began dating, and I wanted her to know who I truly am, underneath the mask. Please don't be upset.”

She smirked. “I'm not upset, Minou. I'm just amazed you waited this long. I uhh... I actually plan on telling my boyfriend soon as well.”

“You have a boyfriend, My Lady? Is he worthy?” He chuckled.

Ladybug smiled. “Yeah, he is... I've wanted to tell him ever since that first day, but the only problem is my kwami, Tikki.”

“What did your kwami do?”

She took a deep breath. “She doesn't exactly like my boyfriend, for reasons he doesn't know nor can he change or be blamed for. It's a huge problem, really... But, when I first got the earrings, she led me to believe that I had to keep this secret from him to protect both of us, when in reality, she had already formed a bias and incorrect opinion about him. Now, I've wanted to tell him for so long, but I'm scared he'll be angry at me, and he'll think that I don't trust him, when it's been her this whole time. I honestly don't know what to do.”

Chat didn't quite know how to hear all of that. He didn't know what kind of kwami would put its own opinions so far over that of their chosens that the kwami felt the need to lie about it. “Wow... Uh...” He tried to think of a solution. What would he want her to do if it was him in that situation? “Maybe, you should tell him that you have something that you want to tell him, but someone else wouldn't let you. Then, you just show him. Introduce him to your kwami and show him that it wasn't ever you, it was her. That's how I would want to be told.”

She smiled, her cat was always looking out for her. She loved him so much. “Thanks, Chat. I think that's what I'll do.”

“No problem. Now what was it that you needed to tell me?”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, about that... Tikki, Spots off.”

In a flash of blinding pink light, she detransformed. 

Chat could feel the light bulb turn on as he connected all of the final pieces. “Princess.”

“Not a question...” Her eyes widened. “You already knew!”

He shook his head, hands coming up to rest on her cheeks. “Never for sure. You were my first guess, remember?”

She nodded, about to cry. “You're not mad at me?”

He shook his head. “For an instant, maybe. But you just told me that you've wanted to tell me since that first day, and that your kwami, Tikki? Was holding you back from actually doing it.” He looked around. “Where is she?”

“She's already inside. Come on, we have a lot more to talk about. You remember those secret reasons I almost dumped you that morning? It's time for me to explain those too.”

He nodded, and the entered her room through the window on the roof, not wanting to go around to the balcony doors.

She looked at him. “It'd be best if you detransform. Plagg can explain everything so much better than I can.”

“Yeah, okay?” He was completely lost. “Plagg, Claws in.”

Plagg popped out of the ring, already pouting. “Do I really have to explain all of it again?”

\---

 

“I can't believe I had to explain all of this. Twice. In the same month.” He muttered low so Adrien couldn't hear him.

“You're not done yet Plagg. You told him about how much the universe ships us through magic, about the Connection, and what it did to his mom. You still have one more thing.”

He shook his head. “I can't. Look at him. I can't give him anymore bad news.” Adrien laid on her bed, immovable and crying. He had been like that for a while now.

Marinette nodded. “I'll do it. You just go eat, okay? Maybe talk to Tikki? I know you haven't forgiven her, but...”

“Yeah, I get it. You need privacy.”

And then it was just the two humans. Marinette pulled a crying Adrien into her arms. “Shh. We're going to get him Minou, I promise. He'll pay for what he did.”

“He just killed her? Just like that? He killed his own partner, my Mom, just for power? And then he instantly feels sorry for it, so now he's trying to bring her back? He doesn't deserve to feel sorry. I hate him!” Adrien had so many things swarming around in his mind. He wasn't in any state to make sense of anything he was thinking, which meant that his thoughts came out rather undeveloped and childish. It was understandable, but he disliked being capable of eloquent thoughts.

“I know, Kitty, I know. I do too.”

Adrien wanted answers. How could Hawkmoth kill his mother? How sick was Tikki that she thought he'd join Hawkmoth just to bring his mom back? Who was Hawkmoth? 

Adrien wanted blood. The person responsible for murdering his Mom, was the same person who terrorized the streets of her home, used the people she loved for his own sick gain.

Hawkmoth didn't even deserve to be considered human. No human could just kill Adrien’s mom like that? She was a literal sunbeam of perfection and love. Only a monster could kill that.

“If we knew who he was, I'd kill him.”

Marinette paused. “Adrien... You can't let these negative thoughts and emotions take over. I know you need to grieve, but we don't murder... If we do, then we're no better than him.”

“He murdered my mom! I want him gone.”

“I know, Kitty. And he will be. He'll rot in a cell in an offshore prison for the rest of his life, never again allowed to return.”

“That's not good enough. I want to see a gravestone.”

“Maybe so, but you're not going to be the one to do that to him.”

“Mari!”

“No, Adrien! Just listen to yourself. Do you honestly think that's the answer? I know it hurts, I know it burns, but do you honestly think that this is how she would want you to respond?! Your mother was the sweetest person on the planet. Do you honestly think she’d be okay with what you're saying? You're her only child. You're so much like her. I've never met her, but I can see her every time I look at you. Every time you smile, laugh, speak, do anything that you love, I see the remnants of someone other than you, someone so beautiful that sometimes I can't even look at you, and you want me to think that she'd be okay with you killing anyone?”

Adrien sniffed. He hadn't been on the receiving end of one of her speeches for about 2 weeks, and he's starting to remember why they're so powerful. He looked at her and noticed she had tears in her eyes as well.

He reached out a hand and wiped them from her face. “I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to make you cry.”

“It's okay, I just need to know you're not going to murder anyone.”

“I... It's a lot to process. A lot of feelings to go through. I think I'll be fine once I calm down. I just need to go home and calm down.”

She stilled. “About that... I don't think it's safe for you to go home right now. You need to be around people while you calm down. I don't think that empty house would be good for you.”

“You act like I'll get akumatized. I wish he would send a butterfly after me.”

“Adrien no! You don't want that.”

“If he sends one my way, I'll do anything I can to learn his identity.”

“Adr-”

“He won't go on too much longer in secrecy.”

“Adr-”

“I'll discover his identity if it's the last thing I'll do.”

“Adrien if you would listen to me, I'd be able to tell you that I already know who he is. That's why I don't want you to go home. You're in danger there by yourself.”

“How? It's not like he's my father, is it?” He waited for a reply but she didn't speak. “Mari? Princess? Please tell me he's not my father...” Silence. “Say something!”

“The truth?” She was shaking.

His voice was soft. His “Yes,” almost went unheard, even in her quiet room. 

Almost. 

She heard him. So she complied. She whispered, adding this to the long list of reasons she was the worst person on the planet.

“Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor kitty.
> 
> The entire time I wrote this, I was thinking of that gif of Patrick where he's yelling wee woo.
> 
> First, I would like to apologize for making y'all read that. I hate writing sad stuff
> 
> Okay so, for the sake of my cannon, the balcony and the window over her bed are 2 different places. Since her door is on the floor, just picture that one of her walls is instead a balcony with glass sliding doors. It makes reading this so much easier.
> 
> Also, I just realized that I never mentioned the time skip. It's in the document where I type the story, but not here. It's in between chapters 3 and 4. Chapter three takes place on the first day of college. In their first year. (Which means that Marinette's first kiss crisis happened at the beginning of that summer). Adrien's mom had just died. Chapter 4 takes place in the middle of their last year of Lycée. Meaning that they're roughly around 17-18. And they've been sitting on each other's identities for 7 years and never told.
> 
> The reason why this will probably be the last update for a while is because August is a huge month. It's move in month. I'm starting my freshman year of university, and I am not ready, so August will be full of shopping montages and me sitting on my bed crying because nothing is working out.
> 
> Does that mean you won't hear from me or my universe? Nope!
> 
> August is also Miraculous Fluff Month, and I've decided to participate in that to keep you until I can update the main story. Plus I have other little one shots that I'll be posting as well, I might post one later today, to JumpStart your mind away from the angst. We all need a break from it. 
> 
> Since, like I said, I'll be busy all next month, I'm doing all of the MFM prompts now, and waiting to post them. It's hard, but I can do it. I'll be posting them here, and on tumblr, to try to expand my audience.
> 
> So, leave comments, kudos, ask me things on tumblr... I really like hearing what you guys have to say! (it's easiest to reach me on tumblr bc AO3 notifications go to the social inbox of my email, which means my phone doesn't let me know that I have it until it's too late to reply. I'm always on tumblr so I can answer those pretty quickly.
> 
> EDIT: I've done some research, and I've realized that collége is for ages 11-15. Which means that in order for them to be 18 in my cannon, they have to be in Lycée. This means that all content not in the main fic takes place over 7 years instead of 4, and all stories about the past now make sense be referenced as the past. I apologize for my mistake, and if I mess up my facts again, someone please tell me...


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of OOC Adrien ft. Ni-know it all Lahiffe, and Marinette Du-Panic Attack-Cheng

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I still alive? No, not really, but then again, neither is Adrien soooooooo
> 
> When I last posted, there were some feels, welcome back to all.
> 
> Since I've been rebirthed in the tumblr tags, i found the inspiration to write.
> 
> I'm so sorry for taking so long to update, college sucks. Never apply unless you hate yourself.

Everything was quiet, frozen. Adrien looked at Marinette, his best friend, his partner. He saw all the worry on her face, the hesitant way she dropped the information on him, how she was still waiting for any response.

He didn't know what to say. “Well, shit.”

Marinette paused, “Excuse me?”

He repeated himself, “Well. Shit.” He shrugged. “Is there anything else to say? Like, how fucked up is that? My own father killed my mother, and spends his free time trying to steal my kwami instead of, I don’t know, spending quality time with me? If that’s not a ‘Yikes’ moment, then I don’t know what is.”

“Adrien...”

His head shot up, eyes wide. “He totally knows I’m Chat Noir.”

“He wHAT???”

“Yeah, okay, so. A few years ago, he was asking me about my ring. I thought he was trying to be a good dad and take interest in his kid, but the questions were weird, like ‘How long have you had this ring? I’ve always noticed it.’ or ‘How special is your ring to you?’ He even tried to make me take it off for a shoot before.”

“Wh..What?” She didn’t know how to feel about any of this.

Just 3 minutes ago, he was ready to kill, but now he’s... she didn’t have a word. The cursing was new. The calm attitude was new. She didn’t know if he had already accepted it, or if he was about to blow his lid. Either way, she didn’t like it. “Why are you so calm about this?”

He shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not 100% sure. My father is so much of a shitty person, that deep down I kind of knew he’d be Hawkmoth. I mean be honest, who else in the entirety of Paris has the personality, motive, and opportunity to be HM? It’s literally so much of a Red Herring that it’s not actually one because it’s true.”

“So, you’re not upset?”

“Oh no, I’m absolutely fucking livid, and I’m pretty sure if I see him within 2 hours I’m going to kill him without needing to transform.”

“But?????”

He smiled softly. “But, my mother always told me that when I get upset with my father, there’s no need to outwardly express it. Just let out some steam with ‘a bunch of fucking cuss words’ behind his back, and be so sweet in his face that he believes something’s wrong.”

“Hhh???” 

She was so grateful for Plagg and Tikki coming back in at that moment because she didn’t recognize the boy in front of her.

“What’s with the silence? Did you not tell him?”

Plagg squinted at Adrien. “Oh no, she told him. She just doesn’t know what to do with an Angry Adrien.”

“He’s Angry???”

Plagg nodded. “Very. There’s not really a way to calm him down. He just gets worse and worse until he snaps.” Adrien pulled out his phone.

“Who are you calling?” Marinette prayed he wasn’t calling his father, now of all times.

“Nino.” he put the ringing phone on speaker.

“Why Nino?”

“Because he always seems to know everything.”

The phone picked up. “Adrien?”

“How long have you known?”

“...”

“Nino.”

“...I’ve had my suspicions for a while. Wasn’t sure until a little over a week ago.”

“Interesting.”

Marinette was so lost.

“You know that if I told you, there’d be no stopping you.”

“Right. Because someone’s gonna stop me now?”

“Adrien.”

She felt like an intruder in her own room.

“No, don’t ‘Adrien’ me, Nino. You know everything, right? So you knew this was coming.”

“Yes, but you can’t confront your father, let alone kill him.”

“And why the hell not?”

She had to say something. But there was nothing to say.

“What would people think if their beloved hero killed a fashion Mogul?”

The words weren’t forming. Her tongue wasn’t moving. She wasn’t breathing.

“Then I won’t be Chat.” He stood up.

This wasn’t her Chat, wasn’t her Adrien.

“Right, because that’s better? Heartthrob kills his father in a random bout of rage?”

She didn’t know how to make him calm down.

“Damnit Nino! Since you have all of the fucking answers, you tell me what I should do!”

She needed to fix this.

“...Lock the window.”

“WHat????”

She didn’t know what to do.

“Adrien, close the balcony door and lock the window.”

She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what to do.

“What the hell is that going to accomplish?”

She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.

“Just do it!”

She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.She didn’t know what to do.

“WHY!!!”

She knew what to do.

“Damnit Adrien!”

“WHAT?”

She bolted up.

“Plagg!”

Right before Marinette reached the balcony, Plagg locked the doors.

“Move Plagg.”

“I can’t. I don’t know what’s going on, but the kid really needed this door locked.”

Adrien turned to them. “What is happening? How’d you know Plagg’s name?”

“Adrien transform. Right now.”

“What? I thought me being Chat would be a terrible idea.!”

“It is! But the Alternative is worse!”

“What Alternative?”

Marinette took a breath. “Plagg. Move.”

“Adrien just fucking listen to me for once, and transform!”

“I’m sorry Marinette, I can’t let you open this window.”

“Fine. Plagg, Claws out!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's panic attack is 100% like mine. I stop functioning, and then I snap, and it's so weird.
> 
> Lookit a mystery.
> 
> If you guys know what just happened at the end here then lemme know bc I don't and i wrote it.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Want some more OOC? Here!!!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part is Nino and Dusuu before the phone call. The second part is right after the last chapter.

“God Damn It!!!” Nino Yelled. “Why do I have to clean up their mess?”

Dusuu flew over. “You do not actually have to, you could just let them do this on their own.”

Nino scoffed, “You know I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“It took them years to figure out who the other was, and they only did it because Adrien is impulsive as hell!”

“Yes, but Nino,” She flew over to him, causing him to stop his pacing and stare at her. “My Little Chick,” She smiled softly as he visibly calmed down at the nickname. “This is not your story.”

He sighed. “Yes, I know, but Dusuu-”

She shook her head. “Then you must understand that this is something that they have to handle on their own. If it was anyone else, you know you would not interfere.

His voice was soft, scared. “But this isn’t anyone else, It’s Nettie. I can’t let her go through this on her own.”

Dusuu nodded. “I know this, but you also know she has done well on her own during these years.”

“That was before I knew! Before I could see! Before I had you!”

“Having me does not give you permission to interfere with the hands of time and fate, Little One. You know this. Everything works out for the greater good.”

“Yes, but you can see better than I can, you know the odds.”

“There is a high chance that everything will work out.”

He began pacing again. “Yeah, but there’s a bigger chance of something terrible happening. I know the rules, I know the odds, but I can’t just sit here, Dusuu, and gamble with their lives.”

“...Do you think she’ll be happy if you decide to jump in?”

“What do you mean?”

“Marinette is a very independent and capable girl who has issues with other people solving her problems for her. Do you think that she’ll be happy if some unknown “new hero” swoops in and saves the day, which is her job? Especially if this is one of the timelines where everything works out fine?”

He paused, thinking about the words of his kwami for a minute, before shaking his head. “That doesn’t matter. How she feels is irrelevant in this situation. She can yell at me all she wants to after because that means she will actually be alive to yell at me later. I don’t care how mad she gets at me, I won’t let her die.”

“What about Adrien? He just realized that his mother, who was my former chosen, was murdered by his father because of the fact that she had me. Do you think he wants to see anyone wielding me right now?”

“Dussu-”

“What about Hawkmoth? Do you really want him knowing that there are more of us that are active? Do you want that? Him to prepare himself for not only you, but Volpina and Queen Bee as well?”

“But-”

“No! I understand how much you care for Marinette and Adrien, but you cannot let your emotions distract you from the bigger picture. You know how dangerous Hawkmoth is. He already knows who Chat Noir is and she still does. Not. Care. They do not need you barrelling in and messing up whatever it is that they think they are doing and knock them out of sync. Hawkmoth is not an idiot. He catches onto things quicker than most people would believe. We do not need him figuring out everything in one fatal swoop. If he killed his wife and targets his son with no remorse, can you imagine what he would do to two kids he does not have any ties to? I will not be responsible for the deaths of anymore of the Chosen.”

“I won’t let that happen, Dusuu.”

“I know this because I will not let you transform.”

He sighed, knowing that she was right. She was always right.

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“Whatever you can do from here.”

His phone rang, without even looking at it, he knew who it was. He looked at Dusuu. “I don’t know if anything I say will help.”

“It has to, My Little Chick. There’s no other way.”

He nodded and answered the phone.

“Adrien?”

“How long have you known?”

“...”

\---

[CURRENT TIME]  
Adrien had never understood the whole stigma around black cats.

He’s been one for as long as he could remember, and he never once believed he caused anyone else bad luck. Neither has Plagg, if he was being honest with himself.

Of course, he seemed to give himself bad luck, and he didn’t think he could blame that on Plagg, under the circumstances.

Anyways, black cats. 

They were believed to be bad luck. 

Especially the ones with green eyes.

Just like his, like Plagg’s, like Chat’s.

Adrien knew his green eyes couldn’t be bad luck.

They were his mother’s.

He was digressing again.

He just didn’t understand the fear of these furry little gifts from God.

(From a specific god, Plagg loved to remind him.)

They were so warm, and loving.

The black cats seemed to be the loneliest.

Maybe it was because they knew how much most people feared them.

Maybe it was because they didn’t know how much most people feared them.

Maybe Adrien was projecting again.

Plagg said he does that a lot.

Plagg says a lot of things about Adrien and cats.

And cheese.

But again, none of this is relevant.

Adrien guesses this is just his way of not coping with everything.

Of avoiding what he had just learned.

Avoiding what he just saw.

Avoiding the fact that if he had just listened to Nino like 30 seconds ago, he might have stopped this.

What is “This?” You might all be wondering?

The “Alternative” Nino referred to?

Well you see, it’s like Adrien said.

He had never understood the stigma around black cats.

He never knew why people could ever be afraid of a cat.

Until tonight.

Because despite everything he had just learned about his family,

The scariest part of his night wasn’t finding out how his mother died.

It wasn’t knowing that his father was a psychopath.

No, it was none of those things.

Adrien, for the first time in all of his years prowling the Parisian streets,

Had finally realized why people were so afraid of black cats.

Except this one had blue eyes tinged with anger and determination.

This one had a smirk and she thirsted for blood.

“Mari? Are you okay? What are you doing?”

A sultry chuckle filled the air, singeing the tips of his ears. “Yeah, I guess I might have lost my head a little back there, but I’m fine now. My head has never been more clear. Maybe I should borrow Plagg more often.”

Tikki chose this moment to make her presence known. “Marinette, what do you plan on doing?”

The blunette paused before slowly turning her head to the Kwami. “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”

“Wouldn’t what?” Tikki was confused.

“Remind anyone that you’re here.”

“Mari that’s unfair, and not like you at all! Not to mention completely uncalled for.”

The girl growled. “No, what’s unfair and uncalled for is how you’ve treated Adrien all these years. If you hadn’t been so caught up in your own head, I could have told him sooner and would have been able to deal with his anger. I could have fixed this. You could’ve fixed your relationship with Plagg. With me. Now, I have to go do the only thing left to do in this situation.”

“Which would be?” Adrien.

“Confront Hawkmoth.”

“No!” Both the boy and the kwami shouted.

“That’s not your decision to make!”

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing with her, but she’s right. It’s mine.”

She laughed that same laugh again. The one that was quickly beginning to become Adrien’s new Achilles’ Heel. She opened the balcony doors before pulling out her pigtails and walking over to him, and grabbed his right hand. “Not anymore. I’ll fix this for you so you don’t have to worry about it anymore, okay Kitty?” She paused. “I guess I can’t call you that right now, can I?”

“That’s another thing, if you go storming into his office, you can’t call yourself Ladybug, and you really can’t call yourself Marinette, so you should just detransform because that’s too dangerous.”

“He’s right!” Tikki said, but a quick glare from Mari silenced her.

“I guess it’s a good thing I have a name then. It’s really corny, considering everything, but for some reason it fits.”

“Mari no.”

She shushed him. She lifted up his right hand and slid her grip to his wrist. She took one of her hair ties, that were once red and were now black with green pawprints, and tied it around his wrist. “Don’t you want to hear what it is? You’ll love it I swear.”

She tied the other hair tie around her own wrist and backed out of her room and onto her balcony.

“Mari please.”

She hopped onto the rail, still facing him. “You gotta let me say the thing, Adrien. Come on. You can’t stop this, at least have a laugh.”

He sighed. “Fine, Mari. Make me laugh. But, if this name isn’t all you’re building it up to be, you have to stay.”

“Nope.”

“Mari...”

“Shhhh. Be supportive.”

He shook his head. “Go ahead and give your little vigilante speech. What’s your name?”

She smirked. “Chataclysm.” And with that, she stretched out her arms and fell off of the balcony and into the Parisian night.

As soon as she disappeared, a tremor rang throughout all of Paris, but there were only four people, and four kwami, who could feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien didn't laugh, but he did really love that pun.
> 
> Look! The kwami swap that Absolutely No One Asked For.
> 
> Who knows what that tremor was? What's Mari gonna do? Why did I think that Chataclysm was a good name, especially because that's the special move? I actually have all of the answers for once, you just watch! (hint: It's because Chataclysm can't do cataclysm. Which has to do with the tremor.
> 
> Wow I suck at writing.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien looked as if he needed to barf again. “You mean she pissed on my gates?! What the fuck!!”
> 
> “What? Adrien? No!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy thanksgiving!!!!!! I hope this chapter makes you laugh.

“Fuck.” Adrien said, all alone in his girlfriend’s room, well except for Tikki, of whom he still has said a proper word to. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.”

He looked around Mari’s bedroom, looking, for something, anything that could help.

While her name was very funny (under any other circumstances he would have been rolling on the floor honestly), Chataclysm was terrifying, to say the least. After she just free fell off of her balcony, he rushed to the rail, and had begun to freak out when she wasn’t there. She had just vanished into the night.

Not to mention the freaky as hell pulse thing that rang out, “Like what the fuck was that tremor shit anyway?” he finished his thought out loud, not really expecting anyone to answer.

“It’s a magical current that rings throughout all active kwami and miraculous wielders that signifies that a kwami has bonded with their chosen.”

Adrien jumped, having forgotten that Tikki existed. “Could you... I don’t know, maybe stop with the disappearing and reappearing thing? Not really instilling a lot of trust.”

“You shouldn’t need a reason to trust me. Honestly, I don’t trust you all that much either.”” Tikki said, watching as he buzzed around the room. “What are you doing?”

“Minding my business.” He paused and looked at her. “And I don’t need a reason to trust you?” He continued to search. “Right. This coming from the person who tricked my girlfriend into lying to me for years because of a genetic deficiency. Sure.”

“I’d hardly call your father a ‘genetic deficiency.’”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I don’t care about what you’d hardly do. I mean honestly, you only have two people you care about, albeit less than yourself, and you’ve managed to piss the both of them off so much that they bonded with each other on some mission that they didn’t tell you about.”

“They didn’t tell you either, Agreste.”

“Yeah, but I bet you my father’s entire fortune that it wasn’t because they were upset with me, so...” He walked over to her bedroom door, ready to open it, but then stopped. “What if her parents are down there?”

“They’re not.”

“Again, not really trusting someone who doesn’t trust me, but thanks.” He glanced at the balcony rail, then at Tikki, considering. He shook his head. “Nope.” and walked out to the rail.

“What are you doing?”

“Shhh.” He grabbed the rail, looking down at his hands. He looked at the hair tie that Chataclysm put on his wrist. Solid black. Wait. “Weren’t there green paw prints on this?”

“So now you want my help?”

“Tikki.”

“FIne, yes there were. They began to disappear right after she left, I figured it was just a cool decoration.”

Adrien took a deep breath and counted to 10. “Please name one part of a transformation suit that’s just for decoration. Just one.”

“Your bell.”

“It’s a zipper!”

“What?”

“Sometimes all of the movement causes the bell to irritate my neck so- wait why am I explaining this to you? Look. Every part of the suit has a function, so this hair tie must as well.” He hoisted himself over the railing.

“Adrien!”

“I have to go after her, and going through the house is not an option.”

“Okay, but you can’t just climb down by yourself! Mari and Plagg would kill me!”

“Well then I guess it’s a good thing neither of them are here, right?” He began to descend.

“You are going to die. Right here. Just transform with me so I can get you to the ground.”

“Oh yeah, totally, because you’ve been sooooooo helpful in the past, right? No. Besides, I’ve been trained for this, there’s an entire rock climbing wall in my room, so thanks for the vote of confidence.” He kept talking, it helped him to concentrate without overthinking. “Plus, I am Chat Noir. Who does this all of the time. On every building.”

“Yeah, with the help of Plagg.”

He laughed, his voice shaky, he was over half of the way down. “Is that what he tells you? He must not let you in on all of the times he detransforms me right outside of my house because ‘I’m low on cheese Adrien! I can’t go on anymore!’ right before he pretends to faint in my pocket, leaving me to scale the side of my all glass house. Believe me. I’m fine.” He pushed off from the building, jumping onto the ground beneath him, landing in a crouch.

“Adrien what the fuck!”

Adrien stood up and laughed, “Do they know that you cuss?” He looked at the hair tie. One paw print. “I’m fine Tikki.” He turned away from the bakery. Two prints. “Wait.” He turned back to the house. The second paw disappeared.

“You not okay?!”

“What? No I’m fine. Look at the hair tie.” he turned away from her house. Two paws.

Tikki gasped. “Is it some kind of tracking device? She did tie the other one on her own wrist, maybe she wants you to follow her.”

He nodded. “That’s what I was thinking.”

“Do you want to transform now, to chase after her?”

He shook his head. “I’m still not comfortable with that, besides it’s going to be a long night, and there are some conversations we need to have.”

She nodded, “I agree.”

They looked off into the illuminated night. “Shall we?”

And off they ran, chasing after pawprints with determined grins on their faces.

\---

Master Fu watched as a blonde boy, and a kwami that wasn’t quite his yet, ran past his window.

Wayzz flew over to join his chosen at the window. “It’s about time that they talked.”

“If I recall correctly, you shared the same ideals as Tikki.”

The turtle waved his hand dismissively. “That was before I knew him. It was an extremely valid concern.”

Fu nodded. “Sure. Just make sure you give Plagg his cheese.” He smiled as Wayzz paled. “And Dusuu her mirror.”

“You knew about that?”

“Of course. I’m the Guardian. I have to know when you six are placing wagers. Especially Plagg and Dusuu. One of them can tip the odds in their favor, and the other can see the definite path of the future. Why would any of you bet against both of them together?”

“There’s strength in numbers?” he shrugged.

Fu shook his head and walked over to his table, where the last two of the miraculous sat. “Okay.”

“Do you really believe it’s time to activate the last two?”

“Marinette has proven to be a very stong chosen. She’s bonded with Plagg after transforming for the first time, and I feel that if Tikki fixes her situation, then they would bond as well Adrien is close behind her. With Dusuu not letting her chosen interfere, we need to make sure they are protected from themselves.”

Wayzz nodded. “I understand.”

All of the jokes and banter were gone from their faces. The idea of Ladybug and Chat Noir, and any combination of the two, being fully bonded was bad news for Paris and the two young adults.

“It’s time.”

With a nod, Wayzz flew over to the last two, a fox tail necklace, and a bee hair comb. He blinked, and a green light beamed from his eyes onto the two accessories. 

The old magic had been awoken. Since Wayzz’s chosens were always guardians, he alone possessed the ability to awaken the other kwami.

He spoke in a language that Fu could only partially understand, and there was a flash of white light.

Once the two could see again, they were greeted with laughter.

“I don’t think the situation is all that funny, Trixx.”

The fox, Trixx, only laughed harder. “But Pollen! We’re the contingency plan! Us! The backups?”

“While I agree that is is a very humorous thought, the situation itself isn’t funny at all.” Fu said.

“Yeah, okay, just point me in the direction of my chosen, spending these last few centuries with no one but Foxxy over here has been... fun.” Pollen said, side eying the fox. 

“Yeah whatever Bee, I love you too. You know we have to stick together, us girls.”

“What about Tikki and Dusuu?”

Trixx rolled her eyes. “Tikki couldn’t hang with us even if she wanted to. And Dusuu? She doesn’t even know what she is half of the time. You know how she is:”

All of the kwami spoke together: “Gender means nothing when you know everything.”

“She’s right though.”

“Not the point at all. Where’s my girl?”

“You’ve got your work cut out for you. Both of you. Alya is pretty tough to handle, but I’m sure you’ll love her Trixx.”

“Yeah? And how’s Chloé been?”

“She’s uh..” Wayzz chuckled. “You have to see her for yourself.”

“Un-bee-lievable. You had one job.”

“She’s a good person, just spoiled rotten.”

Pollen’s blue eyes lit up. “Nevermind I love it!”

Trixx laughed. “Figures.”

\---

“You can’t tell her you know.”

“What? Dusuu why not?”

She shook her head. “How are you going to explain how you know your girlfriend is Volpina?”  
Nino sighed. “Fine.”

\---

“Come on Tikki, this way!”

“But the pawprints go the other way, Adrien.”

“Yeah, but if we go this way we can stay off of the main road. Trust, remember?”

She nodded. “Trust. Right. Okay.”

The turned the corner. “Besides, this alley feels familiar. I can’t be certain in the dark, but it’s almost as if...” his eyes widened. 

“What?”

“Fuck.” He took off, pulling out his phone. “Hello? Nathalie? Yeah, it’s me. I’m fine, I’ll be home soon. Yeah yeah, look, where’s Father? Does he have company? Nathalie? Nath- Shit!” He hung up. 

“What happened?”

“There was a huge crash and her phone cut out.”

“What now?”

He stopped outside of the gates to his house.

Well, where they should have been.

In the place where his gates should have been, was a pile of what reeked of sulfur and fire.

Adrien gagged. “Oh god, what is this?” He covered his face, unable to take another step.

“I haven’t smelled Plagg’s brimstone in a millenia.” 

“His what? I think I’m going to be sick.” He in fact, turned to the side and threw up in a bush that was conveniently placed there for him to barf in, isn’t writing grand?

Tikki turned away. “It’s one way his bonded likes to ‘mark their territory.’ No civilian can make it past the stench. That’s only one of its properties.”

Adrien looked as if he needed to barf again. “You mean she pissed on my gates?! What the fuck!!”

“What? Adrien? No!”

He waved his free hand. “It doesn’t matter, I’ll yell at Plagg later. I need to get in there, and if I can’t go as Adrien...”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded, and uncovered his face to speak clearly. “Tikki, Spots O-oh god not again.” 

After barfing one last time, he stood tall. “Tikki, Spots On!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does any one have a name for LadybugAdrien? bc Ladrien isn't gonna cut it tbh...
> 
> Adrien has a weak stomach.
> 
> I always forget what to put here sorry.
> 
> Pollen and Trixx are gal pals and no one can tell me otherwise. Sorry. I ship them already and this is the first interaction i've ever seen of them anywhere in the fandom.
> 
> Also! Tikki and Adrien developmenttttttttt. 
> 
> Nino cameo
> 
> There's so much going on here.
> 
> Um yeah, so every time a Chosen bonds with their kwami, a pulse rings out to let all of the other kwami and chosen know. Mari and Plagg's love for Adrien and hatred for Gabriel caused them to bond quicker than any other pairing, which is why Chataclysm can do things that Plagg hasn't been able to let another chosen do in so long. Kwami Lore, woooooooo 
> 
> hml


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Chataclysm put him down!” 
> 
> “Aww, babe! You ruined a moment!” She turned to where the blonde had appeared. “I only needed like 5 more seconds.” She paused. “But you know what? You in my spots? Totally worth it, continue.”
> 
> \---
> 
> Chataclysm hit Gabriel on the back of the head. “Really, Mr. I-Don’t-Want-My-Son-To-Hate-Me? Is this the only way you know how to talk to anyone?”
> 
> “Chat! Can you not hit my father!”
> 
> “We have the same nickname!!!”
> 
> “I cannot believe anyone ever thinks you’re the mature one.”
> 
> “You’re one to talk. You spent 5 years flirting with me instead of fighting the Akuma.”
> 
> Gabriel looked back and forth between them. “Is this really the time? Honestly, I knew both of you were young, but...”
> 
> “Shut up!” Both heroes told him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG I'm not dead!!
> 
> I know I've been gone since November, but my life just got crazy hectic and I'm really sorry!!! But I promise I never forgot about this story!
> 
> [Midoriko_sama](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Midoriko_sama/pseuds/Midoriko_sama) inspired the ending to this chapter because she's the one who recommended Adrien's new name.
> 
> I wanted to use [peachgreentea's](http://archiveofourown.org/users/peachgreentea/pseuds/peachgreentea) Idea: Tough Luck, but it honestly sounds like an ability, so I've decided that it's one of Ladybug!Adrien's bonded moves, once he gets that far.
> 
> I'm so sorry for taking so long, I hope you like the chapter!!

The inside of the Agreste Mansion was in ruins.

Statues were knocked over, shattered against the tile.

The stairs were covered in more of that awful black sludge.

The chandelier had fallen to the floor, shattering everywhere.

Despite all of this, the house was deafeningly silent.

Chataclysm was proud of herself. Now the house reflected how the Agreste’s relationship really was.

Making sure that the room that held Nathalie wouldn't open, she made her way to the only room she hadn't touched, the room she knew Gabriel would be.

Adrien’s room.

She laughed a haunting laugh, that rang out through the entire estate, as she opened the door and was met with darkness.

“Oooh the darkness!! I love this game! Here are the rules, okay? I walk around, monologuing because I know you’re listening, and you try to leave the room without being noticed, until you realize that I have advanced hearing and I can see in the dark.” She giggled. “I even left the door open for you, see!! Okay, Start!”

She cleared her throat. “It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? Us ending up in this room. For you, it’s the room you ran too because it’s the only room untouched, which should have tipped you off,” she snorted, “But no one ever accused you of being intelligent. For me, this room, or rather, the person who is supposed to sleep in it, is the entire reason I’m here, ruining your shit.”

A noise was made on the second floor, near the bookshelf, causing her to whip her head in that direction. “How rude! I’m not done yet. Please keep all interruptions until I’ve finished, if you don’t mind.” 

She began to walk towards the area before continuing. “Like I was saying, I’m here because of Adrien. Not that he did anything wrong... which is why I came over when I was positive he isn’t here. If you care at all, he’s safe, I promise. In fact, I just left from seeing him, so don’t worry. Now, don’t think I’m charging you with caring for your son, because we all know you don’t. I just kind of hope that someone besides a bunch of the most wonderful young adults do. Maybe the Gorilla, if he was here... but I digress. The reason I’m here is because you are the worst parent I have ever met, period, so I’m gonna take him off of your hands, okay? I have some friends who would be glad to show him how a real life with a real family works.”

All of a sudden, the lights came back on, Gabriel standing next to the switch. “You will not take my son.”

Chataclysm smiled. “I keep forgetting that you’re more agile than you look.” She jumped down from where she was at, landing in front of him. “But I’m afraid your mind is not. I won’t be taking Adrien because he’s not a possession for me to take. I’m not taking him because he’s going to leave with me.”

“Not if I have any say!”

“Good thing you don’t.” Her eyes flashed, and she whispered “Split.”

Before Gabe could respond, he was swallowed into a sea of black.

\---

“My house. Is a mess!” The blonde hero said upon finally making it past the gate. “What happened here? What did she do?”

It was times like this that he wished he could communicate with the kwami. Going solo sucks.

He started to go upstairs, but of course she’d made sure he couldn’t.

“That’s it. No cheese for 3 months. No cheese, no more late night visits, no more-” He gagged, cutting himself off.

He could hand out punishments later. With a flick of his yo-yo, he went upstairs, following the path of destruction. Nearing the end of the hallway, he heard a banging.

“Is someone else there? Is she gone? Help!!” Came a voice.

“Nathalie?” he whispered. He ran to where she was being held and tried to open the door, immediately reeling back when the knob burned his hand. Through his suit. “What the??” He looked at his hand, confused as to how there were no burn marks on his suit.

“Chat Noir??? Is that you?” Nathalie yelled.

Oh right. The blonde shouted back at her “Not exactly, Nath-Ma’am. Just stand back!” 

He backed up, and then kicked the door down. “Are you alright?”

Nathanlie just stared. “I don’t think I am. First, some catwoman looking chick shows up and destroys the estate, and now here you are, Not-Chat-Noir.”

He nodded. “This... Catwoman... Did she do anything besides trash the house?”

“Oh, because that isn’t enough, right?” Nathalie huffed. “She chased my boss into his son’s room, claiming that he was an unfit parent which, everyone knew so I don’t know why she felt the need to announce it like he’d care at this point.” Nathalie ignored the boy’s flinch as she continued. “Of course he didn’t say anything until she started talking about how she was going to take Adrien and give him a better life. That’s when he got upset, but in my opinion, that boy would be better off in any house except this one. Mr. Agreste should know that, deep down, but he doesn’t like to lose or be robbed, so... Anyways, then the house went quiet until you showed up.” She cleared her throat and fixed her appearance. “Honestly, it took about 5 minutes, and I’d rather not think about it ever again. Now, it you’ll excuse me. I need to go pack my things and write a letter telling Mr. Agreste that these last few years have been taxing, I need a paid vacation, and that I’m not taking no for an answer, especially when I’ve been doing his books for years.” 

And with that, she left the boy to his own devices, clearly through for the moment.

He approached his bedroom, preparing himself for the worst. He took a deep breath, opened the door, and gapped at his clean room. His room, that he was alone in. He detransformed and shut the door.

“She was just here!”

Tikki popped out, looking around the room. “Honestly, did you think either of them would ruin your room?” She said, reading his mind.

“Maybe not Plagg and Marinette, but I don’t know Chataclysm.”

“She was literally created out of their love for you. Well, and their anger for me but that’s old news. Chataclysm wouldn’t hurt anything or anyone you love.”

“She kidnapped my father!”

“And I can promise you he’s unharmed. She’s probably somewhere interrogating him, waiting for you.”

“Yes, but how does she keep moving so fast?”

Tikki sighed. “I’ve seen many ways that Plagg has traveled over the years and this one looks like Twilight Walk, where they’re not moving any faster than normal, but we can’t see them because they’re bending the light around them, moving in the shadows.”

“That... Why can she do all of this stuff that I can’t?”

“Because of the bond. That’s it. You and Plagg haven’t bonded yet because there’s something that you’re holding back from each other, and you’re just really unlucky. Talk about that with him later. Now, we have to figure out where Chataclysm took your father.”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

“Well, if she’s waiting for you, it has to be somewhere important to both of you. It won’t be the bakery, so where in the city could she be?”

Adrien thought about it. “This is somewhere important to both of us? Then I know where she is.”

“Where?”

He smiled. “The place we first met. Not her and Chat, because this is about me, Adrien me. She went to where she first met me. The place we both think of whenever she still uses that old umbrella.”

“You really think she went to Collège Françoise Dupont? After all of these years?”

Adrien shrugged. “We made a lot of memories there. If she really is interrogating him, as you say, she’d take him to the place where he let me find out what a real life could be.”

“You’d better be right.”

He smiled. “I am. Tikki, Spots on!”

\---

Gabriel struggled against his restraints. “Let me go!”

“You like my little trick? I do. ‘Split’ is very helpful when I need more hands,” she paused. “Well, they aren’t hands, but multiple prehensile tails is a mouthful to say, don’t you agree?”

“Why have you taken me from my home?”

Chataclysm laughed. “Home? Who’s home? Not your son’s, that’s for sure.”

“All of this over my Adrien? I just don’t understand. Adrien is fine. He always has been.”

“No, you don’t understand. Not if you honestly believe that. You’ve put him in danger so many times over these years. He almost died half of the time, and you knew this! Yet you still did it. Without fail.”

“I’ve done no such thing! The only danger I’ve introduced him to was whatever scenario in which he met you, but not to worry, I’ll make sure to fix that. Once I’m out of here, I’m sending him out of the city, far away from its madness!”

“Your bluff is worse than your parenting skills, which is impressive. We both know that you need him here, despite what you want. And madness? Paris was fine before you went off your rocker.”

“What are you going on about?”

She walked over and snatched away his ascot, revealing his miraculous. “Did you think no one would ever figure it out?” She sneered. “Hawkmoth.”

“How...? There’s no way you’d find out. No one knows besides Nathalie, and she’s never told anyone. There’s no possible way you could know.”

“Did you forget that you aren’t the only miraculous holder in the city? Do you really think that highly of yourself that you forget everything unless transformed?”

She pushed back her hair, revealing her earings. The only spots still on her, the red and black jarring against her current color scheme.

Gabriel raised his eyebrows, the only indicator of his surprise. “Ladybug, what a lovely new outfit. Did you skin the cat yourself?”

She hissed. “How dare you?’

“What? How dare I speak about my son like that? Simple. Chat Noir is not my son. That dirty stray is nothing more than empty shell of Adrien. I know how the miraculous changes you once transformed. How it takes over and acts like it’s in charge. But it’s not! I was strong enough to overpower mine, where my delicate son obviously was not. Just look at him, frolicking around the city, a slave to his ring. A slave to you. That ring turned my son into a disgrace.” 

Chataclysm flicked her wrist and watched as her tails dragged its catch to the edge of the building. “I’d watch my mouth if I were you. The kwami in the ring isn’t to happy with you right now, if you couldn’t tell. He’s been unhappy with you for so many years that I’m afraid he might just drop you.”

“Now you’re the one who’s bluffing, Ladybug. I have no doubt that both you and that little monster want me gone, but you’re not going to kill me. Even I don’t murder people.”

The tails dragged him towards her at light speed, bringing his face to hers. “Oh, so you didn’t kill your wife? You didn’t take away the only real parent that Adrien ever had?”

He growled, showing the first real emotion of the night. “Of course not! You know all too well about that damned Connection! How it just controls you! That thing killed my wife. That’s why I fought it. Why I need that ring and those stupid earrings! To undo what he did.”

“The Connection only acts on behalf of the Chosen! Even if you didn’t physically kill her, you wanted something that only her death could give you. You wanted her gone! You wanted power!” She looked down at her hair tie, seeing the number of pawprints increase.

“NO!” Gabriel shouted. “I didn’t want her dead! I love my wife with every fiber of my being. I never wanted her gone, and I never wanted power either! I’m the CEO of a multi-million dollar company! Why would I ever need more power?” He sighed. “No, I didn’t want the power. That purple little shit killed my wife. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to break up my family. I didn’t want my son to hate me. I didn’t want any of that.”

“Then what did you want?”

“I wanted m-”

“Chataclysm put him down!” 

“Aww, babe! You ruined a moment!” She turned to where the blonde had appeared. “I only needed like 5 more seconds.” She paused. “But you know what? You in my spots? Totally worth it, continue.”

“Let him go.”

She sighed. “Whatever.” Her tails released Gabriel, and he fixed his clothes. “It’s not like I was going to hurt him, we were talking.”

“Yeah, I know. I was informed that you wouldn’t hurt him.”

“I’d ask you why you cared so much, but that’d be stupid because even if your father is a piece of trash, he’s still your father.”

“Wh-I can’t believe you just revealed me!”

“Really... After you told me he knew who you were.”

“...”

She smiled. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m on your side, here. He’s alive and talking. I’m sorry I frightened you, I really am.”

He nodded.

“Really son? Even with the power of Ladybug, you still allow yourself to be her subordinate? Do you even... You called her Chataclysm. Do you even have a name?”

“Even when you’ve been beat you feel the need to scold me. I don’t know what else I was expecting. Of course I have a name, how helpless do you think I am?”

“Well then out with it!”

Chataclysm hit Gabriel on the back of the head. “Really, Mr. I-Don’t-Want-My-Son-To-Hate-Me? Is this the only way you know how to talk to anyone?”

“Chat! Can you not hit my father!”

“We have the same nickname!!!”

“I cannot believe anyone ever thinks you’re the mature one.”

“You’re one to talk. You spent 5 years flirting with me instead of fighting the Akuma.”

Gabriel looked back and forth between them. “Is this really the time? Honestly, I knew both of you were young, but...”

“Shut up!” Both heroes told him.

“Adrien! I am your father, and you will not speak to me in that manner!”

“Do you want all of Paris to hear us? To know who I am? Be professional. It’s the only thing you know how to do. Please call me Laddybug.”

There was silence for 20 long seconds before Chataclysm and Gabriel, enemies in every sense of the word, both doubled over with laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh yes, uncomprehensible gibberish. Stream of consciousness is not the way to writing fanfiction. Trust me.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Chat, come on.”
> 
> “No. I came here for a reason, and I will see it through.”
> 
> “What? No. I’m not talking about him. We can deal with him in a moment. I meant my name. Is Laddybug really that bad?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whattttttt? 2 in 1 night????
> 
> enjoy!!

“What is so funny?” Laddybug stood there as his girlfriend and his father, who hated each other, laughed at him.

“Why would you name yourself Laddybug? Like, babe, I know you love me, but really?”

“You couldn’t think of a better name, Son?” His voice seemed to snap Chataclysm out of her laughing because she snapped and he was once again a victim to the tails. 

“You don’t get to laugh. You don’t deserve even the slightest bit of happiness.”

“Chat, come on.”

“No. I came here for a reason, and I will see it through.”

“What? No. I’m not talking about him. We can deal with him in a moment. I meant my name. Is Laddybug really that bad?”

“Babe... No. It’s not bad, and if you had gotten Tikki first, then Laddybug would’ve been cool! But be honest. If you had received the earrings, what would you have called yourself?”

Laddybug looked down. “Something like Coccinelle Homie..”

She laughed. “I get it! It’s a pun for Ladybug Man, right? Now tell me why you chose Laddybug.”

“I am still here, you know.” Gabriel cut in.

“Shhh. This isn’t about you. We’re having a very important discussion about names. You chose Hawkmoth so you have no ground to speak on. Continue, Bug.” Chataclysm waived him off.

“Because your name is a pun on my special ability... I thought it’d be romantic to name myself after you as well!”

She plopped a kiss on his cheek, making him blush. “You’re right. It is romantic, and I love it; however, it’s corny. I do love it though!”

Laddybug’s face was redder than his mask. “Can I change it? Since only we heard it?”

She shook her head. “I’m afraid not. You can’t unring a bell. Oh well. Back to the issue at hand.” She turned to a now bored Gabriel. “Wake up, Butterfly. You were telling me this whole spiel about what you never wanted, so tell me what you did want.”

“The moment is gone, unfortunately. I’ve calmed down, and realized that you don’t need to know.”

The heroes looked at each other before Gabe found himself dangling off the edge of the building. “Do I need to know, father? Do I need to know why you did what you did to mom?”

“You wouldn’t let me go, stop this! And I already said that I didn’t kill your mother. Hawkmoth did that!”

Chataclysm’s tails released until only one held Gabriel from death. “Try again.”

“Okay, okay! It was my freedom!”

“What?”

“All I wanted was my freedom. I bet your kwamis told you that I was a little power crazed, and your mother was the only thing keeping me sane?” They nodded. “Well did they tell you that it wasn’t always like that? How me and your mother weren’t always heroes. How we started off as vigilantes? We never used to be all about saving Paris. We used to just be two people who had miraculous. We found them on a trip in Tibet, and we used to just do what we wanted with them.” He sighed. “It was the good life. We lived on the line between hero and villain, helped others when we could, helped ourselves when we wanted, we were happy! I had my company, so we never needed for anything. And then we had you, and our lives were complete. Then that stupid Guardian found us.”

“Master Fu?”

“Who else? He showed up, saying that we weren’t supposed to use them like this, how he left them in Tibet for us to achieve our true potential. We pretty much ignored him until he began to visit my wife in secret. He told her I was unstable, that I would cause the world harm, that I would cause you harm, and she believed him. She started preaching to me about heroism, and how we should want our son to look up to us. I didn’t want to risk Adrien hating me, so I complied. I gave up my fun days for heroism, for my family. I grew irritable. I became so obsessed with how the world viewed us that it bled over into my civilian life. I became angry, cold, distant. Everything became about my image, because I never wanted anyone to tell my son that I wasn’t perfect. To tell my wife and that turtle that they were right about me. And then. And then that annoying old man told my wife that something was going to happen to her. That she wouldn’t be there to protect our son from me. That I was going to become this giant monster. And she believed him over me. She said it was time to retire. That she wanted to return the miraculous and become a normal family. And Hawkmoth snapped. He sensed my fear, my betrayal, my pain, and he took that to mean I wanted my wife dead. You both know the rest.”

Laddybug, who had begun crying a few minutes ago, shook his head. “So you became the monster you were painted to be? You think this is what she wanted?”

“She made me this way! Her and Fu took away the only thing I loved! They took away my relationship with my family. Fu made my wife scared of me. She let her fear push me over the edge. I’m not saying I’m not in the wrong. I’m saying that it never should have gotten this far. If she had only chosen our love over the words of an old man, we’d all be alive and happy. This is their fault.”

“You’re lying.” Laddybug spat through his teeth. “You’re just saying all of that so she doesn’t drop you.”

“Adrien, I swear to you that I am not. Ask one of the kwamis. If they refuse to answer, then you’ll know I’m telling the truth!”

“NO! I WON’T LET YOU DO THIS TO MOM!” He screamed, backing away from his father.

Chataclysm pulled Gabriel back onto the roof of the school, let him go, and went to comfort Laddybug. 

“Adrien...” She sat down and pulled him onto her lap. “Come here, Bug.” She looked up at Gabriel. “I’d vanish if I were you. I was never going to hurt you, but he still might.”

“But-”

Chataclysm shook her head. “Just go. His friends will be by to collect his stuff soon. Now beat it.”

With a nod, Gabriel went to the stairs and disappeared.

Once she was sure he was gone, Chataclysm detransformed, leaving a teary Marinette and Plagg in her place. Laddybug followed her lead, and soon Marinette was holding Adrien. “Why’d you let him go?”

“He’ll be there whenever you’re ready, Adrien.” Mari said. “I care more about you right now anyways.”

“She’s right, Kid.” Plagg spoke up. “Besides, it’s not like we don’t know where to find him.”

“We’ll get him.” Tikki said, and neither Marinette nor Plagg would look at her.

The four of them stayed like that until Adrien calmed down enough for them to move to Mari’s room across the street. Before laying down to go to sleep, Marinette sent out a text message to the class group chat:

 **Ma Minette:** soooooo... who wants to help me raid the agreste manor in adrien’s name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This poor kid.

**Author's Note:**

> I figured out how to do the thing look: [ juggiejunkie ](http://juggiejunky.tumblr.com)  
> come cry with me about these idiots
> 
> Buy me a coffee?


End file.
